POST OFFICE SAVINGS BANK.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1289, 15 July 1886, Page 3

POST OFFICE SAVINGS BANK.

[Fr m the Mail ] By the courtesy of the Government printer we have|received, among the budget of Parliamentary papers he sends us, « table showing the business of the Post Office Savings Banks in New Zealand, year by year, from the date of their establishment in 1867 to December 31, 1885. It is interesting to note the progress made by the department since its commencement on February 1, 1867, up to the close of last year. During the first eleven months of the existence of postal savings banks in the colony only 46 offices were opened ; 6977 deposits in all were received, representing, however, 7s rod. During that period 18s gd was withdrawn, and interest to the amount of -£1241 5s was paid to depositors. During those eleven months 2520 accounts were opened, and 364 closed, and when the department began the second year of its existence it had 2x56 accounts open with 14s id standing to the credit of depositors. Steadily, as the years rolled on, business increased. In the second year the deposits ran into six figures, but it was

not until 1881 had been reached that the savings of the depositors touched a million, And then we find that the deposits received by the Department for the year stood at £1,189,012 2s yd, from 190 offices and in 51,008 accounts. The average amount standing to the credit of each open account that year was £24 3s 4d, as against £33 03 during the eleven months of 1867. If this difference indicated anything, it showed, taking the large increase in the number of depositors with it, that a vastly extended use had been made of the Department by the colonists, and that in a most marked degree a provident and thrifty spirit was obtaining among the people. At the close of last year the business of the Department showed a very marked increase all round on previous years—--261 cffices were open and 131,373 deposits had been received, representing £1,341,001 3s 2d. Withdrawals amounting to £1,264,305 Ss 3d had been made, leaving an excess of deposits over withdrawals of £76,695. But the most satisfactory item is found in the second last column of the table, which shows that at the close of the year 69,957 depositors had to their credit £1,638,036 4s 3d, or an average for each of £23 8s 4d. In all but four years there were excesses of deposits over withdrawals. In 1874, 1875, 1879, and 1883 the excesses were of withdrawals over deposits, and consequently at the close of each of those years the total amount at depositors’ credit showed a falling off as compared with the year that immediately preceded it. Last year the cost of management reached the lowest point per transaction it has yet touched, namely, 4 I.sth of a penny—though the whole machinery of the system had been worked for £4°o°s and £63,228 3s nd had been paid in interest. It is very gratifying also to observe that the Christchurch district, which includes our own local postal district, shows best in the table for this year. We have only in the Christchurch district 29 savings bank offices, against Auckland’s SB, Dunedin’s 33, and Wellington’s 33 ; but we show ,£279,620 os id received I for the year, as against £185,078 3s received in the Auckland district, £237,331 *4* rod in Dunedin, and ,£237,342 15s lid in Wellington. At the close of the year, we had 14,957 depositors remaining with £355,297 6s 4d against their names, and the nearest to this is the Dunedin district with 12,710 depositors and £299,439 14s 4d to their credit. Altogether, the table is a very gratifying one, as showing that the colonists are closely cultivating habits of thrift, and it is especially gratifying to note that ourown district in these times of depression and scarcity of employment stands so well on the books of the Savings Bank.