Though the customer has arranged for a “limit” of, say, £1,500, it is quite possible that he will not overdraw his account to that extent; but at those seasons of the year when his outgoings are always in excess of his receipts the balance against him at the bank will draw closer to his limit. If, however, his business be in a healthy condition the corner will soon be turned; and as his payments in begin to exceed the cheques he draws, his indebtedness to the bank speedily sinks below the average. Each payment to his credit reduces his debit balance, and every cheque debited, of course, increases it, but as the banker charges him a rate upon the sum owing at the end of each day, it follows that the customer only pays interest upon the actual money he has borrowed--not upon the amount of the “limit” as does the London client upon the amount of his “loan.” This arrangement is much the fairer to the borrower, who, however, must take care that the banker do not charge him a high rate of commission upon his turn-over under it. We can now consider the rate of interest a customer should pay on an advance which is more than covered by marketable securities that can be sold on the Stock Exchange at a moment’s notice. Most provincial towns, we know, are over-banked; and as each banker is the rival of the rest it follows that a person whose cover is tangible can, by playing off the one against the other, obtain very fine rates. But he may not care to adopt these tactics; still, as the method may appeal to some, it would be a pity not to dwell upon its possibilities, for it is often undoubtedly effective where argument fails. The would-be borrower of this class may be referred to the table of rates in Chapter VII, and to the remarks made concerning well-secured advances in London, as, competition for a secured overdraft being even more keen in the country, where tangible securities are less in evidence, he should experience little difficulty in coming to a similar arrangement with reference to the rate of interest.