The trustees of existing Savings Banks should be authorized (except so far as any depositors might object) to transfer their deposits to the department. In all probability the deposits with the department would amount to at least thirty millions in the course of a year or so; and at the present price of Consols, this would give to the Post Office about 200,000_l._ beyond the interest which they would have to pay to the depositors. If this would not meet the expenses, the rate of interest might be 2_l._ per cent., giving to the department an additional 150,000_l._ a year. The principle being admitted, there would be no insuperable difficulty in arranging the details. JOHN BULLAR. _Temple, November 8, 1856._ This memorandum was written in November, 1856. Mr. Bullar describes that at that period he was too much occupied to enter into the matter so fully as was necessary, or to agitate by means of the press for some such scheme; but Mr. Bullar's friend, Mr. Joseph Burnley Hume (eldest son of the late Mr. Joseph Hume, M.P.), who had some leisure at command, and perhaps some of his father's desire to achieve an amendment of the Savings Bank system, undertook to bring the matter forward in the proper official quarters. He early saw Mr. Frederic Hill, who was in charge of the Money Order department of the Post Office, and learned from him that the same scheme had already been suggested to the Post Office, and rejected after full consideration. A month afterwards Mr. Hume saw the Duke of Argyll, who was then Postmaster-General, and received a courteous hearing from him. The Duke also said that the Post Office had had the question, or something like it, before them, and that he thought the Chancellor of the Exchequer still had something of the kind under consideration; but gave no definite reply. Subsequently he saw Sir Alexander Spearman, the Comptroller of the National Debt Office, and Mr. Tidd Pratt. "He gathered from them," to use Mr. Bullar's own words, "that they were with him in principle, but regarded the proposed Money Order department as visionary, and that the Government had under consideration a different scheme, which they preferred."[161] Having in this way met with enough discouragement to hinder them--or any other person who might be cognizant of the proceedings that had been taken--from going further, they dropped any further steps to bring about this desirable change.