A practice productive of much harm to the public service, as well as to individuals, had prevailed for many years in Bavaria in almost all the public departments of the state, that of appointing a great number of supernumerary clerks, secretaries, counsellors, etc. who, serving without pay, or with only small allowances, were obliged, in order to subsist till such time as they should come into the receipt of the regulated salaries annexed to their offices, to contract debts to a considerable amount; and as many of them had no other security to give for the sums borrowed, than their promise to repay them when it should be in their power, no money-lender who contented himself with legal interest for his money would trust them; and of course they were obliged to have recourse to Jews and other usurers, who did not afford them the temporary assistance they required, but upon the most exorbitant and ruinous conditions; so that these unfortunate people, instead of finding themselves at their ease upon coming into possession of the emoluments of their offices, were frequently so embarrassed in their circumstances as to be obliged to mortgage their salaries for many months to come, to raise money to satisfy their clamorous creditors; and from this circumstance, and from the general prevalence of luxury and dissipation among all ranks of society, the anticipation of salaries had become so prevalent, and the conditions upon which money was advanced upon such security was so exorbitant, that this alarming evil called for the most serious attention of the government. The interest commonly paid for money, advanced upon receipts for salaries, was 5 PER CENT. PER MONTH, or three creutzers, for the florin; and there were instances of even much larger interest being given. The severest laws had been made to prevent these abuses, but means were constantly found to evade them; and, instead of putting an end to the evil, they frequently served rather to increase it. It occurred to me, that as any tradesman may be ruined by another who can afford to undersell him, so it might be possible to ruin the usurers, by setting up the business in opposition to them, and furnishing money to borrowers upon more reasonable terms. In order to make this experiment, a caise of advance (Vorschuss Cassa), containing 30,000 florins, was established at the military pay-office, where any person in the actual receipt of a salary or pension under government, in any department of the state, civil or military, might receive in advance, upon his personal application, his salary or pension for one or for two months upon a deduction of interest at the rate of 5 PER CENT. PER ANNUM, or one twelfth part of the interest commonly extorted by the Jews and other usurers upon those occasions.