Second only in importance was the proposal to again reduce the rate of interest. The remarks with which he introduced his proposal to reduce the interest rate are curious, to say the least, when viewed in the light of the speech to which we have previously referred. He felt confident, he said, that the country _had no right_ to pay upon these investments a higher rate of interest than could be obtained from an investment in other securities. The Savings Banks rate was considerably higher than any other investment of money. Although the Act of 1828 had tended to reduce materially the number of depositors of the better classes, and had increased--as we have shown in the last chapter, we think quite conclusively, so far as figures can show it--in a still greater proportion the number of those who had deposited only small amounts, there were still many who were attracted to Savings Banks on account of the interest given being higher than that obtained from the Funds. Mr. Goulburn now proposed that the bill should contain a clause reducing the rate from 2-1/2_d._ per cent. per day, to 2_d._ With the same object in view, namely, to restrict the operations of Savings Banks to the class of provident poor, the Chancellor proposed to reduce the amount which any one could put by in one year from 30_l._ to 20_l._ and to make the total amount which could be deposited in any Savings Bank, 120_l_ instead of 150_l._[71] A further proposition, which provided for another wide-spread evil in the same direction, was one requiring that no persons should be permitted to make deposits as trustees without stating the names of the persons for whom they were acting, and that no payments should be made in such cases except under a receipt signed by all the parties interested in the funds deposited. By means of the clauses in previous acts relating to trust accounts, the law was regularly evaded, and many persons had considerable sums of their own in Savings Banks, which they represented as being held in trust for other people, whose names even they were required not to divulge.[72] This clause was carried without any trouble, as it met such a palpable evil; provision was made, however, that the law should not be applicable to trust accounts opened before the passing of the act. Had it not been for such an exception, those who had recourse to the stratagem of feigning the character of a trustee might have lost much of their money, on account of the difficulty or impossibility of obtaining within the time the signature of the party apparently interested. Though the clause was not made retrospective, as some urged it should be, as a punishment to those who had deceived the managers of Savings Banks, it was clearly the best thing that could be done to put an end to the practice, which entirely depended on the powers of the so-called trustees to draw out the money alone.