After making due allowance for “cash,” “bank balances,” “call money,” and “investments,” a banker employs the balance of his funds in discounting bills, buying bills from the market, and making advances to customers. As the dates when bills fall due for payment are fixed, if for any reason a banker deems it prudent to increase his “cash” and “bank balance,” he can readily do so by letting his bills in hand mature, and not taking up new bills in their place. It is open to the banker to sell the bills he holds, that is, to rediscount them, if he choose to do so; but this course is not practised at the present day, except by a few country banks. Moreover, in the event of a panic, probably no one can be found to buy bills, so that they are not in practice realisable before the maturity dates. As an illustration of this, it may be mentioned that on one occasion during the crisis of 1847, it was found to be impossible in the city of London to discount even an Exchequer Bill of the English Government. Of the various investments of a banker, “advances to customers” are the most difficult to realise in time of pressure, as the wherewithal for the customers to repay their advances is then wanting, and in their efforts to obtain necessary funds the danger would only be aggravated. In such times, indeed, the commercial world requires extra assistance to avert an actual crash. “Premises” is an item appearing among the assets in balance sheets of joint-stock banks. It is probable that in many cases the value of the premises largely exceeds the figure at which they are put in the accounts, and hence they constitute a hidden reserve; but the investment, by its nature, is one that cannot readily be made available to meet sudden demands. We see, therefore, that a banker’s assets usually consist of the following six classes of investments:— I. Cash in the till and balance with Bank of England (or London agent). II. Money lent at call or short notice. III. Investments— (_a_) Consols; (_b_) securities guaranteed by the British Government; (_c_) other securities. IV. Bills under discount. V. Advances to customers. VI. Premises and sundries. The first three of these classes constitute what is known as a banker’s “liquid assets.” TABLE SHOWING, IN THE CASE OF NINE REPRESENTATIVE JOINT-STOCK BANKS, THE PERCENTAGES OF THE VARIOUS CLASSES OF ASSETS RESPECTIVELY TO THE AMOUNT OF LIABILITIES TO THE PUBLIC.