of depositors, who have no share themselves in the management of their bank. It appears to your Committee that an alternative ought to be given, and freely offered to the choice of trustees, either to secure the guarantee of Parliament upon such conditions as the commission shall prescribe, or themselves to undergo the same liability in regard to Savings Banks as was enacted by 9 Geo. IV. c. 92, s. 9. The able actuaries connected with various large banks, who have attended your Committee, have detailed various methods by which imposition and error may be rendered almost impossible in large establishments; but in the case of the smaller banks, where the funds are not adequate to provide a staff of paid officers, it will be for the Commission to see what arrangements they can make to check misconduct, and to afford to depositors, at least once a year, a certainty that their money has been duly lodged with the Government, for which purpose some valuable suggestions were made by several of the witnesses experienced in the practical management of banks. In one point all the witnesses concur; and your Committee must record their own opinion to the same effect, that the most effectual restraint upon malversation is to be found in the presence of a second party in every transaction where money is paid or received; and that a rule to this effect ought to be imperative in all banks, under a penalty on its infringement." [102] The Committee sat six days deliberating on their Report after all the witnesses had been examined. Draft reports were proposed by Mr. Ayrton, Sir Henry Willoughby, and the Chairman, the report ultimately carried, after a few emendations, being that by Mr. Estcourt. [103] Sir Alexander Spearman, who clearly explained the facts to the Committee of 1858, also described the routine gone through when Savings Banks made investments with Government. They first certify the appointment of trustees; then, appoint an agent in London, generally a banker, through whose hands the money passes. When the trustees of a Savings Bank wish to invest, they send up a notice to their agent, who presents it at the National Debt Office, where an order is given to the Bank of England to receive the stipulated sum and place it to the account of the fund for the Banks for Savings. Next morning a receipt is sent from the Bank of England to the National Debt Office, and from thence to the trustees who remitted the money. A somewhat similar proceeding takes place on the trustees of any Savings Bank wishing to withdraw money. It is done through the agent, who gives the necessary notice of withdrawal. No money is paid or received at the National Debt Office, but at the Bank of England, the Commissioner simply keeping the accounts.