The success of the Post Office Banks has been of the most complete kind. Whether we consider, as we shall now proceed to do in proper order, the amount of the business done; the nature of the business done; the influence of these banks on the provident habits of the community; the results upon those small banks which more especially have partaken of the character of eleemosynary institutions; and the manner in which the business of the Postal Banks has been organized and performed, the scheme has far more than realized the anticipations under which it came into existence. _As to the Amount of Business done._ The interval between the passing of the Act and the 16th of September, 1861, was occupied, it appears, in completing the arrangements for the conduct of the measure, including the appointment of Mr. Chetwynd to control the scheme he had originated, and a staff of superior and subordinate officers with which to begin the business; and on that date operations were commenced by the opening, in England and Wales, of 301 Money Order Offices as Savings Banks. The grounds upon which the first places were chosen were unquestionably the best that could have been adopted to test the feeling of the country with regard to the scheme itself. They were, (1) Avoidance of all collision with existing banks which supplied a fair amount of accommodation; (2) The selection of important and thickly-populated districts, making that selection embrace the widest possible area, and leaving no inconsiderable tract of country without the required accommodation; (3) To meet the wishes of the public, so far as these wishes were indicated by memorials or requisitions to the authorities; and (4) To take care that the postmasters of selected places were trustworthy, and capable of transacting the business efficiently. Had the scheme failed under such conditions as thus seem to have been imposed, little hope could have been held out that it would ever have been successful: as it happened, however, the banks were found at once to supply a great public want. The authorities seem to have been so far encouraged, that in six weeks an enormous addition was made to the number of banks. 254 were opened in the month of October following, 338 in November, and 784 in December, making the entire number of 1,629 new banks open to the public at the end of the year. On the 3rd of February, 1862, the benefits of the measure were extended to Ireland, by the opening of 300 banks; on the 17th of the same month, 299 banks were opened in Scotland; and by the end of six months from the original commencement of the plan, there were in the United Kingdom no fewer than 2,532 Post Office Banks in existence. 400 additional banks were opened in 1863; and at the end of 1864 the total number of banks was increased to 3,219. Up to the present time (March, 1866), the number of Post Office Banks is 3,369, of which,