The capital of foreign railways consists of obligations, stocks, and shares. The obligations are in the form of bonds, being a first charge on the railway. The bonds vary in amount, but chiefly represent £100 and £20, and they bear a certain rate of interest. Some of the Conti- nental railways may offer a fair investment in this way, but great care is required in the selection. The stocks and shares of some of the South American railways command a high premium, but of the whole number quoted in the official list the large majority show a heavy decline on the original value, many indeed being valueless. These stocks are highly speculative and subject to be affected by political convulsions and other contingencies, which make them undesirable as an investment. BANKS. A joint-stock bank is composed of a number of proprietors who hold the shares which make up the capital of the bank, and to the nominal amount of these shares their liability is limited. The whole of this amount, however, is not paid up, but only sufficient for the working re- quirements of the bank, the remainder being held in reserve for contingencies. Let us take, for instance, the London and Westminster Bank, which has the largest capital of all the joint- stock banks. The capital amounts to £14,000,000, made up of 140,000 shares of £100 each. Only £20 of this £100 is paid up, leaving a liability of £80 on every share. A joint-stock bank is governed by a board of directors, elected by the shareholders; and managers and other officers are appointed by the board to conduct the business. Many of these banks, besides having a head establish- ment in London, have branches all over the country. Every joint-stock bank is compelled by law to publish its accounts so as to show its position, and these accounts are presented to a yearly or half-yearly meeting of the shareholders for approval. The British Colonies have a good many joint- stock banks, with agencies in London. By a Permissive Act passed in 1825 the shareholders in most of these are liable for double the amount of their shares. The profits of banking have been, in times past, very large, and the original shareholders of the older banks have reaped the advantage thereof, but bank shares of good repute are not now to be obtained except at a high premium. The dividends are sent half-yearly to the ad- dress of the shareholders, and they are not liable to income-tax, as the bank pays this. Any one entitled to exemption from income-tax can claim from the surveyor of taxes the amount the bank has paid in respect of the dividend, on a certifi- cate from the bank to that effect.* * See Note, p.39.