SAVINGS BANKS-THEIR HISTORY.

UNCLAIMED DEPOSITS AND SURPLUS MONEYS.

THERE are no State institutions more deserving of encouragement, in our opinion, than Savings Banks, for the benefits conferred by them are incalculable. Not only are they useful to the depositor, as places of security for money that might otherwise be lost, stolen, or squandered, but they bring into active employment these various small sums which would have remained unproductive in the hands of private individuals, thus granting facilities to trade and commerce. Probably the wonderful progress our country has made the last fifty years is owing as much to the combination or co-operation of individual capital, brought about by just such means, as to any other single cause. We find much useful and interesting information respecting Savings Institutions in a report prepared by Wм. D. MURPHY, Esq., of New York, from which we have drawn largely for what follows.

HISTORY OF SAVINGS BANKS IN EUROPE.

The first savings bank is claimed to have been founded at Hamburg, in Germany, as early as 1778, though it had generally been supposed that the first institution of the kind was formed at Berne, in Switzerland, in 1789.

The credit of introducing them in Great Britain is claimed on behalf of several different persons; but there doubtless may be earlier unrecorded instances of arrangements having been made to receive small savings from the poor and to return them on demand with interest.

In 1798, a "Friendly Society for the Benefit of Women and Children," was established at Tottenham High Cross, under the superintendence of Mrs. PRISCILLA WAKEFIELD; and before 1801 there had been combined with its main design to other objects, viz., a fund for loans and a bank for savings. In 1804, this bank for savings was more regularly organized, and trustees were appointed. A prior claim, however, is raised in behalf of the Rev. JOSEPH SMITH, of Wendover, who, in 1799, circulated in his parish proposals to receive any sums on deposit during the summer, and "to return the amount at Christmas, with the addition of one-third to the whole as a bounty upon the depositors' economy."

The society next formed, of which we have any account, was opened in 1808, at Bath, for receiving deposits from female servants, and was instituted chiefly through the instrumentality of ladies. Previous to this, however, the Provident Institution of London was established, in 1806.

In 1810, the first savings bank, in Scotland, was formed, by the Rev. HENRY DUNCAN, minister of Ruthwell, Dumfrieshire. Various interesting papers were published by him on the subject of establishing banks for savings in the different parishes of the country, and the regular and simple organization of his "Parish Bank" served as a model for other institutions. He communicated the rules by which it was governed to the Edinburgh Society for the suppression of Mendicity, and the result was the establishment, in 1814, of the Edinburgh Savings Bank. Similar institutions were about the same time commenced at Kelso and Howick, and in November, 1815, the Provident Institution of Southampton was established.

The first publication in England of the idea of savings banks is also attributed to the celebrated JEREMY BENTHAM, in whose well known schemes for the management of paupers, in 1797, was included a system of frugality banks, as he called them. The suggestions, however, of Mr. Bentham were ne ver acted upon.

PATRICK COLQUHOUN, who died in 1820, one of the police magistrates in London, and the author of many tracts for the amelioration of the condition of the poor, and who, during the latter part of the last and the beginning of the present century, was actively engaged in many of the benevolent institutions of that metropolis, published in 1806, his "Treatise on Indigence," in which he recommended provident banks upon a national plan. "The idea of such institutions," he says, in a letter to THOMAS EDDY, of New York, dated the 20th of February, 1818, "originated with me; had my plan been adopted in 1806 I am certain that not less than seven millions sterling of the property of the laboring classes would have now been yielding interest."

The first act of legislation on the subject of saving banks in Great Britain was passed in 1817, and up to the time of the passage of that act there had been formed by the voluntary association of benevolent persons, not less than seventy banks in England, four in Wales, and four in Irela d During that year acts were passed by Parliament offering every encouragement to these institutions, and making arrangement to take all moneys deposited, and place them in the public funds. Interest was then paid by the government upon moneys thus invested, at the rate, at first, of £4 per cent, which was afterwards reduced to £3 5s. per cent. This interest being greater, however, than that yielded by the securities in which the deposits were invested, entailed upon the public exchequer a loss of about four and a-half millions sterling.

The first act affecting Scottish banks was not passed until 1818.

On the 20th of November, 1858, there were in the United Kingdom 606 savings banks, with 1,261 paid and 621 unpaid officers; 1,398,886 depositors, and £35,757,455 on deposit.

In France, on the 1st of January, 1859, there were 379 savings banks in operation; 30 more had been authorized by the government, but were not yet opened.

There are savings banks in Brussels, Liege, Tourna, and in several other towns in Belgium. Switzerland, however, is entitled to the credit of having established the oldest savings bank of those now existing in Europe, the one at Turich having been in operation since 1805. The most considerable bank in Switzerland is that founded by M. TROUCHIN.

In Hamburg there is one savings bank, which has six district banks in the city, and three in the country, placed in convenient localities.

On the 31st of December, 1857, there were 405 savings banks in Prussia; in the same year there were 127 in operation in Holland; and at the end of the year 1858 there were reported to be 130 in Sweden. In Russia there are but two, one at St. Petersburg and another at Moscow.

The savings banks in Holland, however, are wholly private undertakings, although they are considered benevolent institutions, and their directors are required by an article of the poor-law to make annual returns of their operations. In Austria they are established either by joint-stock companies or by civic corporations, but are all placed under the supervision of govern

ment.

SAVINGS BANKS IN THE UNITED STATES.

The first savings banks established in the United States were, as early as 1816, organized in Salem, Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. An unsuccessful effort was made the same year to establish one in the city of New York. Mr. THOMAS EDDY, who had been for many years a correspondent of PATRICK COLQUHOUN, from whom he received a letter, dated April 19, 1816, calling his attention to the formation of a "Provident Institution or Savings Bank" in London, was doubtless the first to suggest the idea of such an institution. A meeting of citizens of New York was called through the public papers, and was held at the City Hall, on the 29th of November, 1816. Mr. EDDY presided, and after resolving that it was expedient to es tablish a savings bank for the city of New York, a constitution was submitted and adopted by the meeting. On the 17th of the following month, officers and directors were elected, among whom were DEWITT CLINTON, CADWALLADER D. COLDEN, THOMAS EDDY, JOHN PINTARD, BROCKHOLST LIV. INGSTON, WILLIAM FEN, WILLIAM BAYARD, PETER A. JAY, JOHN Murray, Jr, and other distinguished citizens. DEWITT CLINTON was appointed chairman of a committee to draft an address to the public, on the subject of such an organization. The address was afterwards adopted and printed for cir culation. It was considered necessary to apply to the Legislature for an act of incorporation; but, "in consequence of the principles not being distinctly comprehended and the preponderating objection against the incorporation of any more banks, with which, not only this, but almost every other State in the Union were inundated, whereby serious consequences were apprehended," the application to the Legislature, in 1817, failed.

The subject of a savings bank, however, was renewed by the "Society for the prevention of pauperism in the city of New York," which was instituted in 1818. A committee of that society made a report, on the 2d of December of the same year, on the great importance and utility of a savings bank, illustrated by the successful experience of similar institutions in Salem, Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and on the expediency of applying to the Legislature, at the ensuing session, for an act of incorporation; which application was successfully made, and an act of incorporation obtained. The act passed on the 26th of March, 1819, and the institution was entitled the "Savings Bank in the city of New York."

This was the first savings bank established in the State of New York; it commenced business on the 3d of July, 1819, in a room in the basement of the New York Institution, on Chambers street, which was destroyed by fire in 1857, and is now the site of the new City Hall, in course of erection. The trustees subsequently built a substantial banking house on Chambersstreet, nearly opposite its first location, and afterwards disposed of that property, and erected another banking house on the same street, west of Churchstreet. The march of improvement and the convenience of depositors, however, induced the trustees to also dispose of that property, and finally located in their present substantial and beautiful banking house, on Bleeckerstreet, near Broadway.

The history of this well-managed institution, and of the many good deeds of its distinguished founders, constitutes one of the brightest pages in the financial records of the State. The names of CLINTON, COLDEN, EDDY, MURRAY, PINTARD, JAY, and other philanthropists were a sure guarantee of the purely benevolent character of the proposed institution, and of the public

spirit and singleness of purpose with which they intended it should be administered; an intention which has doubtless, so far, for the last forty-four years, been happily carried out. It has now become the largest savings bank in the United States, and occupies a leading position among the most carefully managed and successful financial institutions in the world. Its number of accounts on the ist of January, 1863, were 50,573; and the amount of its deposits $9,587,112 34; with its assets, amounting to $10,259,589 10.

SAVINGS BANKS NOW IN OPERATION IN THE STATE.

Such is a brief history of the oldest savings bank in the State. It is not necessary to speak in detail of those which have since been chartered, and which have generally been modeled after the above institution. We give, however, a list of the savings banks incorporated by the State and now in operation, with the dates of their incorporation, and in the order in which they have been chartered. It is as follows:

city of New York.

1819. Mch. 26, Bank for Savings in the 1851. June 20, Central City Savings In. stitution, Utica June 30, Rome Savings Bank. July 1, Irving Savings Institution, New York.

1820. Mch. 24, Albany Savings Bank.
1823. April 23, Troy Savings Bank.
1827. April 7, Brooklyn Savings Bank.
1829. Jan'y 31, Seaman's Bank for Sav-
ings, New York.

1831. April 16, Po'keepsie Savings Bank.
April 21, Rochester Savings Bank.
1833. April 24, Greenwich Savings Bank,
New York.

1834. April 29, Schenectady Sav'gs Bank. May 1, Bowery Svigs Bank, N. Y. 1839. April 26, Savings Bank of Utica. 1846. May 9, Buffalo Savings Bank. 1848. April 11, East River Savings Institution, New York. Institution for the Savings of Merchants' Clerks, and others, New York.

April 12,

May 12, Dry Dock Savings Insti-
tution, New York.

1849. Mch. 12, Auburn Sv'gs Institution.

Mch. 30, Syracuse Sv'gs Institution.

1850. Mch. 29, Albany City Savings In

1857. April 15, Central Sv'gs, Bank Troy. | 1860. Mch. 17, Chenango County Savings 1858. April 17, Emigrant Savings Bank

of Buffalo.

April 17, Southold Savings Bank.
1859. Mch. 4, Oswego City Sv'gs Bank.
April 5, Jefferson County Savings
Bank, Watertown.

April 9, German Sv'gs Bank, N. Y.
April 12, Union Dime Sav'gs Bank,
New York.

April 12, Dime Savings Bank of
Brooklyn.

April 14, Queens Co. Savings Bank. April 18, Peekskill Savings Bank. 1860. Mch. 5, Corning Savings Bank.

Bank, Norwich.

Mch. 5, Citizens' Savings Bank,
New York.

April 10, Kings County Savings
Bank, Brooklyn.
April 10, Rockland County Savings
Bank, Piermont.

April 11, Atlantic Savings Bank,
New York.

April 12, Rhinebeck Sav'gs Bank.
April 12, Sag Harbor Sav'gs Bank.
April 14, Franklin Savings Bank,
New York.

April 17, East Brookl'n Sv'gs Bank.

It will be seen from the foregoing statements that the number of savings institutions chartered by our Legislature, previous to the 1st of January, 1863, was one hundred and one. Of this number seventy-one were in operation at that date, of which latter number, fifty-one had been in operation five years on the 1st of July, 1862.

UNCLAIMED MONEYS.

The subject of unclaimed moneys, supposed to be lying in the several savings banks in the State, has been, for many years, inside and outside of the Legislature, a fruitful source of discussion. The public press has, periodically, teemed with articles on the subject, and year after year, bills and propositions have been introduced into the Legislature proposing to transfer these unclaimed moneys to the custody of the State, supposing them to amount to millions. But whatever may be the power of the Legislature as to the disposition of the money itself, the amount is clearly not as large as it has generally been supposed to be. No doubt many have confounded the surplus moneys of our savings banks with the unclaimed deposits, and to this fact, probably, may be attributed the extravagant ideas that have been so prevalent in the public mind upon the subject of the latter.

As to what should be understood by the expression "unclaimed moneys," there has been considerable uncertainty, but we think it should include all moneys embraced in accounts upon which there has been no deposit or upon the pass book, draft, or the interest upon which has not been entered within a certain specified period. Unless one of these three transactions has taken place upon the account within the period specified, the money may be considered as unclaimed.

The length of time an account should remain unacted upon, in the manner required, before the money embraced therein should be considered as unclaimed, is a question upon which legislatures have disagreed. By the act of 1835, which was the first legislation on the subject, it was two years; by that of 1839 it was three years, and according to the recommendation of the special committee of the Assembly, in 1859, it was twenty years. The various propositions introduced into the Legislature, from year to year, to transfer unclaimed moneys to the custody of the State, specified various different periods, ranging from two to ten years and upwards. This Committee reported all moneys unclaimed for five years as the minimum period, with the amount embraced in the sum reported for that period which had been unclaimed successively for ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, and thirty years, and so on as long as the institution may have been in existence. By