9 New Banks in Loudon previously existing but not mentioned 13 New Suburban Bank Offices opened in London

1 New Private Provincial Bank opened

1 New Provincial Banking Company opened

90 New Branch Offices opened by Provincial Banks

118

56 Deduct Offices opened by Banks in place of other Banks which have ceased to exist, and Offices closed

7 New Bank Offices opened, 8 closed, in Scotland.

62 Increase in Bank Offices in England and Wales

1 Diminution of Bank Offices in Scotland

61

59 Increase in number of Bank Offices in 1881 in Great Britain and Ireland

70

New Bank Offices opened in towns where no such
accommodation previously existed-

In England and Wales

Scotland
Ireland

SUMMARY BANKING CAPITAL.-ENGLAND AND WALES.-1881.

Increase in Banking Capital

Deduct Decrease in Banking Capital (Metropolitan and Pro-
vincial Banks noted above)

£566,400

94,560

Net Increase in Banking Capital-England and Wales

£471,840

[This Statement is to be substituted for figures on p. 16.]

THE BANK OF GERMANY AND THE LEGAL LIMITS OF ITS
CIRCULATION.

THE regulations respecting the note circulation of the Bank of
Germany allow it in the ordinary way of business to issue
notes up to the extent of the gold and silver legal tender

money it holds, of the Reichskassenscheinen, or notes issued by the State, and of the notes of the other issuing banks it may at the time hold in its coffers; beyond this it is allowed, as is the Bank of England, to issue a certain proportion of its circulation without holding security against it. This amount was fixed by the German Bank Act, 1875, at £12,500,000,which has been extended, as will be seen by the statement which follows, through the Bank acquiring the rights of issue belonging to other noteissuing banks in existence at that time.

The English Bank Act of 1844, as is well known, does not allow the Bank of England any excess of issue beyond the limit fixed by that Act. In Germany, however, the case is different. The Reichs Bank is allowed to exceed the issue beyond the fixed limit on payment of a tax. This tax is, as enacted by the tenth section of the Bank law, 5 per cent. for the period of excess, which is reckoned according to the interval between each published return.

SECTION 10.-For the purpose of determining the amount of tax due, the administration of each bank has to make out a statement of the total of the stock of cash and of the note circulation on the 7th, 15th, 22nd, and last of each month, and to submit this statement to the Imperial controller. At the close of every year the controlling authorities will, upon the basis of these statements, determine the amount of tax to be paid by each bank, in the following number:-5/43 per cent. of the surplus of uncovered notes subject to the tax, as fixed in each of the different statements, is to be calculated as part of the tax; and the total of these separate tax debits is the amount of tax which the bank has to pay to the Exchequer, at latest, on the 31st of January of the year following.

It is further provided that the bank must hold, at all times, one-third of the whole circulation in gold and silver legaltender money. This provision fixes an ultimate limit for the excess. beyond which it must not pass. The remainder of the circulation has to be represented by first-class bills. The regu lations on this point are contained in par. 3 of section 44 of the Act, which is as follows:

SECTION 44.-(3.) The bank is obliged to have in its coffers one-third of the amount of its notes in circulation, either in German currency,* or in legal-tender notes of the Empire, or in gold foreign coins, or in gold bars, or 1 pound of gold valued at 1,392 marks. The rest of the amount

Besides the gold coins of the German currency, the silver thaler pieces ay legal tender up to any amount, at the rate of 3 marks for each thaler.