Chapter VIII: Part 8

BAN'DOLIER, a large leathern belt or baldrick, to which were attached a bag for balls and a number of pipes or cases of wood or metal covered with leather, each containing a charge of gunpowder. It was worn by ancient musketeers, and hung from the left shoulder under the right arm with the ball bag at the lower extremity, and the pipes suspended on either side. The name is now given to a similar belt, worn by mounted troops, for carrying cartridges. Another form of the word is _bandoleer_.

BAN'DOLINE, a gummy perfumed substance used to impart gloss and stiffness to the hair.

BAN'DON, a town, Ireland, County Cork, on both sides of the Bandon. Pop. 3122.

BANDS, a small article of clerical dress, made of linen, going round the neck and hanging down in front for a short distance in two pieces with square ends, supposed to be a relic of the amice.

BANEBERRY, or HERB CHRISTOPHER (_Actaea spic[=a]ta_), a European plant, ord. Ranunculaceae, local in England, with a spike of white flowers and black, poisonous berries. Two American species are considered remedies for rattlesnake bite.

BANER (b[.a]-n[=a]r'), Johan Gustafsson, a Swedish general in the Thirty Years' War, born 1596, died 1641. He made his first campaigns in Poland and Russia, and accompanied Gustavus Adolphus, who held him in high esteem, to Germany. After the death of Gustavus in 1632 he had the chief command of the Swedish army, and in 1634 invaded Bohemia, defeated the Saxons at Wittstock, 24th Sept., 1636, and took Torgau. He ravaged Saxony again in 1639, gained another victory at Chemnitz, and in 1640 defeated Piccolomini. In Jan., 1641, he very nearly took Ratisbon by surprise.

BANFF (bamf), county town of Banffshire, Scotland, a seaport on the Moray Firth at the mouth of the Deveron. It is well built, carries on some boat-building, and has ropeworks, a brewery, &c., fishing and shipping. Near the town are the county lunatic asylum, and Duff House, a seat of the Duke of Fife, now public property; on the east side of the Deveron is the town of Macduff, where an extensive fishing trade is carried on. Banff is one of the Elgin burghs, which together return a member to Parliament. Pop. 3517.--The county has an area of 403,053 acres. In the south it is mountainous; but the northern part is comparatively low and fertile; principal rivers, the Spey and Deveron; principal mountains, Cairngorm (4095 feet) and Ben Macdhui (4296 feet), on its southern boundary. Little wheat is raised, the principal crops being barley, oats, turnips, and potatoes. Fishing is an important industry; as is also the distilling of whisky. Serpentine abounds in several places, especially at Portsoy, where it is known as 'Portsoy marble', and Scotch topazes or cairngorm stones are found on the mountains in the south. Banffshire returns one member to Parliament. Pop. (1921), 57,293.

BANFF, a town of N. W. Canada, at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, on the Canadian Pacific Railway, with National Park, hot springs, coal-mines, &c.

BANG. See _Bhang_.

BANGALORE', a town of Hindustan, capital of Mysore, and giving its name to a considerable district in the east of Mysore State. The town stands on a healthy plateau 3000 feet above sea-level, has a total area of nearly 14 sq. miles, and is one of the pleasantest British stations in India. In the old town stands the fort, reconstructed by Hyder Ali in 1761, and taken by Lord Cornwallis in 1791. Under English administration the town has greatly prospered in recent times. There are manufactures of silks, cotton cloth, carpets, gold and silver lace, &c. Pop. 189,485.--The Bangalore district has an area of 3070 sq. miles, of which more than half represent cultivable land. Pop. about 760,000.

BANGKOK', or BANKOK, the capital of the kingdom of Siam, extending for several miles on both sides of the Menam, which falls into the Gulf of Siam about 15 miles below. The inner city occupies an island surrounded with walls and bastions, and contains the palace of the king and other important buildings. The dwellings of the common people are of wood or bamboo, often raised on piles; a large portion of the population, however, dwell in boats or wooden houses erected on bamboo rafts moored in the river, and forming a floating town. Temples are numerous and lavishly decorated. Houses in the European style have been erected in modern times, and the telegraph, telephone, gas, fire-engines, and omnibuses introduced. A university with eight faculties has recently been established. The trade, both inland and foreign, is very extensive, the exports consisting chiefly of rice, sugar, silk, cotton, tobacco, pepper, sesame, ivory, aromatic wood, cabinet woods, tin, hides, &c.; and the imports consisting chiefly of British cotton, woollen, and other goods. Pop. 628,675, of whom about a half are Chinese. See _Siam_.

BAN'GOR, a city of North Wales, in Carnarvonshire, picturesquely situated near the northern entrance of the Menai Strait. It appears to have possessed a cathedral in the sixth century, which was destroyed by the Normans in 1071. The present cathedral--the third--only dates from the reign of Henry VII. It has a college of the University of Wales (founded in 1903), and a Normal College. Bangor has risen into importance as a popular resort; its principal trade is in the export of slates from the neighbouring quarries. Pop. (1921), 11,032.

BAN'GOR, a seaport town, Ireland, County Down, on the south side of Belfast Lough. Principal trade: cotton, linen, and embroideries. Pop. 7776.

BAN'GOR, a port of the United States, in Maine, on the W. side of Penobscot River, a flourishing and pleasantly-situated town, and one of the largest lumber depots in the world. The river is navigable to the town for vessels of the largest size. Pop. (1920), 25,948.

BANGO'RIAN CONTROVERSY, a controversy stirred up by a sermon preached before George I in 1717 by Dr. Hoadly, Bishop of Bangor, from the text "My kingdom is not of this world" (_John_, xviii, 36), in which the bishop contended in the most pronounced manner for the spiritual nature of Christ's kingdom. The controversy was carried on with great heat for many years, and resulted in an enormous collection of pamphlets.

BANGS'RING. See _Banxring_.

BANGWEO'LO, or BANGWEULU, LAKE, in South Africa, the southernmost of the great lake reservoirs of the Congo, heard of in 1798, was reached by Livingstone in 1868, an oval-shaped shallow sheet of water, said to be 150 miles in length along its greater axis, from east to west, and about 75 miles in width, but its exact limits are uncertain. It was first circumnavigated by Poulett Weatherley in 1896. See _Congo_.

BAN'IAN, or BAN'YAN, an Indian trader or merchant, one engaged in commerce generally, but more particularly one of the great traders of Western India, as in the seaports of Bombay, Kurrachee, &c., who carry on a large trade by means of caravans with the interior of Asia, and with Africa by vessels. They form a class of the Vaisya caste, wear a peculiar dress, and are strict in the observance of fasts and in abstaining from the use of flesh. Hence, _Banian days_, days in which sailors in the navy had no flesh meat served out to them. Banian days are now abolished, but the term is still applied to days of poor fare.

BANIAN TREE. See _Banyan_.

BA'NIM, John, an Irish novelist, dramatist, and poet, born in 1798, died 1842. His chief early work was a poem, _The Celt's Paradise_ (1821). Having settled in London, he made various contributions to magazines and to the stage; but his fame rests on his novels, particularly the _O'Hara Tales_, in which Irish life is admirably portrayed. In these, as in some of his other publications, his brother, Michael Banim (born 1796, died 1874), had an important share, if not an equal claim to praise. The two brothers have been justly called 'the first national novelists of Ireland'.

BANISHMENT. See _Exile_.

BAN'JARMASSIN, a district and town in the south-east of Borneo, under the government of the Dutch. The town is situated on an arm of the Banjar, about 14 miles above its mouth, in a marshy locality, the houses being built on piles, and many of them on rafts. Exports: pepper, benzoin, bezoar, ratans, dragon's-blood, birds'-nests, &c.; imports: rice, salt, sugar, opium, &c. Pop. 52,000, mostly Dyaks.

BAN'JO (a negro corruption of _bandore_; It. _pandora_, from Lat. _pandura_, a three-stringed instrument), the favourite musical instrument of the negroes of the Southern States of America. It is six-stringed, has a body like a tambourine and a neck like a guitar, and is played by stopping the strings with the fingers of the left hand and twitching or striking them with the fingers of the right. The upper or octave string, however, is never stopped. The banjo was introduced into England in 1846.

BANJOEMAS (b[.a]n'yoe-m[.a]s), a town in Java, near the centre of the island, well built and of commercial importance; it is 22 miles from the coast, and is the residence of a Dutch governor. Pop. 6500.

BANKING AND BANKS. Banks are establishments for the deposit, custody, and repayment on demand of money, and obtain the bulk of their profits from the investment of sums thus derived and not in immediate demand. The term is a derivative of the _banco_ or bench of the early Italian money-dealers, being analogous in its origin to the terms _trapez[=i]tai_ (_trapeza_, a bench or table) applied to the ancient Greek money-changers, and _mensarii_ (_mensa_, a table) applied to the public bankers of Rome.

In respect of constitution there is a broad division of banks into public and private; public banks including such establishments as are under any special state or municipal control or patronage, or whose capital is in the form of stock or shares which are bought and sold in the open market; private banks embracing those which are carried on by one or more individuals without special authority or charter and under the laws regulating ordinary trading companies. In respect of function three kinds of banks may be discriminated: (1) banks of deposit merely, receiving and returning money at the convenience of depositors; (2) banks of discount or loan, borrowing money on deposit and lending it in the discount of promissory notes, bills of exchange, and negotiable securities; (3) banks of circulation or issue, which give currency to promissory notes of their own, payable to bearer and serving as a medium of exchange within the sphere of their banking operations. The more highly-organized banks discharge all three functions, but all modern banks unite the two first. For the successful working of a banking establishment certain resources other than the deposits are of course necessary, and the capital paid up by shareholders on their shares and forming the substantial portion of their claim to public credit is held upon a different footing from the sums received from depositors. It is usually considered that for sound banking this capital should not be traded with for the purpose of making gain in the same way as the moneys deposited in the bank; and it is for the most part invested in Government or other securities subject to little fluctuation in value and readily convertible into money. But in any case prudence demands that a _reserve_ be kept sufficient to meet all probable requirements of customers in event of commercial crises or minor panics. The reserve of the banking department of the Bank of England is always in coin, or in notes against which an equivalent value of coin and bullion is lying in the issue department. In other English banks the reserve is usually kept partly in gold and partly in Government stocks and Bank of England notes; but it sometimes lies as a deposit in the Bank of England. The working capital proper of a bank is constituted by moneys on deposit, for which the bank may or may not pay interest; the advantages of security, of ease in the transmission of payments, &c., being regarded in the cases of banks little affected by competition as a sufficient return to the depositor. Thus the Bank of England pays no interest on deposits, while the contrary practice has prevailed in Scotland since 1729, where interest is paid on deposits although not on current accounts.

Of the methods of making profit upon the money of depositors, one of the most common is to advance it in the discounting of bills of exchange not having long periods (seldom more than three months with the Bank of England) to run; the banker receiving the amounts of the bills from the acceptors when the bills arrive at maturity. Loans or advances are also often made by bankers upon exchequer bills or other Government securities, on railway debentures or the stock of public companies of various kinds, as well as upon goods lying in public warehouses, the dock-warrant or certificate of ownership being transferred to the banker in security. In the case of a well-established credit they may be advanced upon notes of hand without other security. Money is less commonly advanced by bankers upon mortgages on land, in which the money loaned is almost invariably locked up for a number of years. To banks of issue a further source of profit is open in their note circulation, inasmuch as the bank is enabled to lend these notes, or promises to pay, as if they were so much money and to receive interest on the loan accordingly, as well as to make a profitable use of the money or property that may be received in exchange for its notes, so long as the latter remain in circulation. It is obvious, however, that this interest on its loaned notes may not run over a very extended period, in that the person to whom they are issued may at once return them to the bank to lie there as a deposit and so may actually draw interest on them from the bank of issue; or he may present them to be exchanged for coin, or by putting them at once into circulation may ensure a certain number speedily finding their way back through other hands or other banks to the establishment from which he received them. A considerable number of the notes issued will, however, be retained in circulation at the convenience of the public as a medium of exchange; and on this circulating portion a clear profit accrues. This rapid return of notes through other banks, &c., in exchange for portions of the reserve of the issuing bank, is one of the restraints upon an issue of notes in excess of the ability of the bank to meet them. In the United Kingdom a more obvious restraint upon an unlimited note issue, originating partly in a desire for greater security, partly in the belief that the note augmentation of the currency might lead to harmful economic results in its influence upon prices, is to be found in the Bank Acts of 1844 and 1845, which impose upon banks of issue the necessity of keeping an equivalent in gold for all notes issued beyond a certain fixed amount. The wisdom of these legal restrictions, which are not uniform throughout the kingdom, and the desirability of the acquisition and control by the State of the whole business of issue, are still matters of debate.

In specific relation to his customer the banker occupies the position of debtor to creditor, holding money which the customer may demand at any time in whole or in part by means of a cheque payable at sight on presentation during banking hours. For the refusal to cash a cheque from the erroneous supposition that he has no funds of his customer's in his hands, or for misleading statements respecting the position in which the bank stands, the banker is legally responsible. Moreover, the law regards him as bound to know his customer's signature, and the loss falls upon him in event of his cashing a forged cheque. In their relations to the community, the chief services rendered by banks are the following: By receiving deposits of money they are the means by which the surplus capital of one part of a country is transferred to another where it may be advantageously employed in stimulating industry; they enable vast and numerous money transactions to be carried on without the intervention of coin or notes at all, thus obviating trouble, risk, and expense. The mechanism by which the last of these benefits is secured is to be found in perfection in the London Clearing House.

The modern tendency of banks is towards amalgamation. The large English banking institutions have absorbed many of the smaller banks. They have also made working arrangements with Scotch and Irish banks and with similar institutions abroad.

The result of these amalgamations is to give control of immense financial resources to a smaller number of banks. In 1918 the Government appointed a Committee to inquire into the effect of such amalgamations and absorptions. The terms of reference were: "To consider and report to what extent, if at all, amalgamations between banks may affect prejudicially the interests of the industrial and mercantile community, and whether it is desirable that legislation should be introduced to prohibit such amalgamations or to provide safeguards under which they might continue to be permitted"; and the Committee reported: "That legislation be passed requiring that the prior approval of the Government must be obtained before any amalgamations are announced or carried into effect".

In order, however, that such legislation may not have the effect of producing secret amalgamations, the Committee decided that "all proposals for agreements which would alter the status of a bank as regards its separate entity and control, or for purchase by one bank of the shares of another bank, be also submitted for the prior approval of the Government before they are carried out".

Another development is the registration of the British Overseas Bank, Limited, with a nominal capital of L5,000,000. The principal object of this institution is to carry on general banking business in all parts of the world. Four banks--two English, one Scotch, and one having connections with South America--are financially interested in the Overseas Bank.

Banking operations on a considerable scale appear to have been conducted by the ancients, and recent excavations have proved that in the seventh century B.C. banking was practised at Bagdad by a firm of Egibi & Sons. Modern banking, however, must be regarded as having had an independent origin in the reviving civilization of the Middle Ages. In the twelfth century almost the whole trade of Europe was in the hands of the Italian cities, and it was in these that the need of bankers was first felt. The earliest public bank, that of Venice, established in 1171 and existing down to the dissolution of the Republic in 1797, was for some time a bank of deposit only, the Government being responsible for the deposits, and the whole capital being in effect a public loan. In the early periods of the operations of this bank deposits could not be withdrawn, but the depositor had a credit at the bank to the amount deposited, this credit being transferable to another person in place of money payment. Subsequently deposits were allowed to be withdrawn, the original system proving inconvenient outside the Venetian boundaries. It is, however, less from the Bank of Venice than from the Florentine bankers of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries that modern banking specially dates, the magnitude of their operations being indicated by the fact that between 1430 and 1433, 76 bankers of Florence issued on loan nearly 5,000,000 gold florins. The Bank of St. George at Genoa also furnished a striking chapter in financial history. The important Bank of Amsterdam, taken by Adam Smith as a type of the older banks, was established in 1509, and owed its origin to the fluctuation and uncertainty induced by the clipped and worn currency. The object of the institution (established under guarantee of the city) was to give a certain and unquestionable value to a bill on Amsterdam; and for this purpose the various coins were received in deposit at the bank at their real value in standard coin, less a small charge for recoinage and expense of management. For the amount deposited a credit was opened on the books of the bank, by the transfer of which payments could be made, this so-called _bank money_ being of uniform value as representing money at the mint standard. It bore, therefore, an _agio_ or premium above the worn-coin currency, and it was legally compulsory to make all payments of 600 guilders and upwards in bank money. The deposits were supposed to remain in the coffers of the bank, but they were secretly traded with in the eighteenth century till the collapse of the bank in 1790. Banks of a similar character were established at Nuremberg and other towns, the most important being the Bank of Hamburg, founded in 1619. In England there was no corresponding institution, the London merchants being in the habit of lodging their money at the Mint in the Tower, until Charles I appropriated the whole of it (L200,000) in 1640. Thenceforth they lodged it with the goldsmiths, who began to do banking business in a small way, encouraging deposits by allowing interest for their use, lending money for short periods, discounting bills, &c. The bank-note was first invented and issued in 1690 by the Bank of Stockholm, founded by Palmstruck in 1688, and one of the most successful of banking establishments. About the same time the banks of England and Scotland began to take shape, opening up a new era in the financing of commerce and industry.

_Bank of England._--The Bank of England, the most important banking establishment in the world, was projected by William Paterson, who was afterwards the promoter of the disastrous Darien scheme. It was the first public bank in the United Kingdom, and was chartered in 1694 by an Act which, among other things, secured certain recompenses to such persons as should advance the sum of L1,500,000 towards carrying on the war against France. Subscribers to the loan became, under the Act, stockholders, to the amount of their respective subscriptions, in the capital stock of a corporation, denominated the _Governor and Company of the Bank of England_. The company thus formed advanced to the Government L1,200,000 at an interest of 8 per cent--the Government making an additional bonus or allowance to the bank of L4000 annually for the management of this loan (which, in fact, constituted the capital of the bank), and for settling the interest and making transfers, &c., among the various stockholders. This bank, like that of Venice, was thus originally an engine of the Government, and not a mere commercial establishment. Its capital has been added to from time to time, the original capital of L1,200,000 having increased to L14,553,000 in 1816, since which no further augmentation has taken place. There exists besides, however, a variable 'rest' of over L3,000,000. The charter of the bank was originally granted for eleven years certain, or till a year's notice after 1st Aug., 1705. It was subsequently renewed for various periods in 1697, 1708, 1713, 1742, 1764, 1781, 1800, 1833, and 1844, certain conditions which the bank had to fulfil being specified at each renewal. On this last occasion it was continued till twelve months' notice from 1855. At the same time the issue department of the bank was established as distinct from the general banking department, the sole business entrusted to the former being the issue of notes. By this arrangement the bank was authorized to issue notes to the value of L14,000,000 upon securities specially set apart, the most important of the securities being the sum of L11,015,100 due to the bank by the Government, together with so much of the coin and bullion then held by the bank as was not required by the banking department. The bank has since been permitted to increase its issue on securities to L18,450,000, but for every note that the issue department may issue beyond the total sum of L18,450,000 an equivalent amount of coin or bullion must be paid into the coffers of the bank. For its special privileges the bank has to pay to the Government an annual sum of L180,000, and the profit derived from the issue of notes beyond L14,000,000. The Bank of England notes are practically equivalent to gold. They are (like all English bank-notes) of the value of L5 and upwards, and are legal tender throughout England. Notes once issued by the bank and returned to it are not reissued but are destroyed--a system adopted in order to facilitate the keeping of an account of the numbers of the notes in circulation, and so prevent forgery. On 7th Aug., 1914, Government notes for L1, and ten shillings, were issued convertible into gold at the Bank of England.

In compliance also with the Bank Charter Act of 1844 the bank is compelled to publish a weekly account, of which the following is a specimen:--

_Dr_. ISSUE DEPARTMENT. Week ending 11th August, 1920 _Cr_.

Notes issued L139,980,460 | Government debt L11,015,100
| Other securities 7,434,900
| Gold coin and bullion 121,530,460
| Silver bullion ---
------------ | ------------
L139,980,460 | L139,980,460

_Dr_. BANKING DEPARTMENT _Cr_.

Capital L14,553,000 | Government securities L68,250,449
Rest 3,458,795 | Other securities 73,805,565
Public deposits 15,999,059 | Notes 14,452,665
Other deposits 124,018,988 | Gold and silver coin 1,537,092
Seven-day and other 15,929 |
bills ------------ | ------------
L158,045,771 | L158,045,771

The total of the notes given out by the issue department is called the 'issue circulation', the portion of it in the hands of the public being the 'active circulation', and that still in the banking department being the 'note reserve'. This 'note reserve' represents really the amount of bullion in the issue department available for the use of the banking department. Of the other items in the account it may be noted that the proprietors' 'rest' is a varying surplus increased always by accumulated profits up to 5th April and 10th Oct., when the bank dividends are paid to the shareholders; and that the public deposits, which include sums lodged on account of the customs, inland revenue, &c., increase through revenue receipts until the dividend terms in January, April, July, and October. The other or private deposits comprise those of bankers, merchants, and other persons. An increase in these private deposits indicates an increase of monetary ease, while a decrease informs us that bankers, merchants, and traders have calls upon them for money. A better indication of the demand for money is furnished, however, by the advances on commercial securities, and it is by this and the condition of the reserve that the bank rate of discount is regulated. When the reserve is high and the advances moderate the discount rate is low, and it is raised according as the reserve falls and advances are more in request, especially during an adverse foreign exchange and drain of gold. Gold is thus restrained from going abroad, and its influx into the country is encouraged. In addition to the profit which the bank may make by ordinary banking business, by the Bank Act of 1892 and the Revenue Act of 1906, it receives an allowance for the management of the national debt, at the rate of L325 per million on 500 millions, and L100 per million on all debt above that sum. The annual sum is not to be less than L160,000. It also derives a profit from foreign gold coin and bullion brought to it, for which it pays L3, 17s. 9d., or 1-1/2d. per ounce less than the real value.

The management of the bank is in the hands of a governor, deputy-governor, and twenty-four directors, elected by stock-holders who have held L500 of stock for six months previous to the election. A director is required to hold L2000, a deputy-governor L3000, and a governor L4000 of the stock. The court or board of directors meets every Thursday, when the weekly account is presented. The Bank of England has branches in Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham, Leeds, Hull, Bristol, Plymouth, and Portsmouth.

The other English banks consist of numerous joint-stock and private banks in London and the provinces, many of the provincial establishments of both kinds having the right to issue notes. Private banks in London with not more than six partners have never been prevented from issuing notes, but they could not profitably compete with the Bank of England. The maximum issues of the provincial banks are limited to a certain amount, against which they are not compelled to hold gold in reserve, and they have no power to issue against specie in excess of the fixed circulation. Their actual issues are considerably below this amount. No union can take place between a joint-stock bank and a private bank, or between two joint-stock banks of issue, without one of them losing its issue. Their total authorized circulation is about L2,958,900, but the actual circulation of these banks is now only about L1,200,000, being distributed among about eighteen private and about twenty joint-stock banks. The notes of these banks are payable in Bank of England paper. The greater number of joint-stock banks are of limited liability, though their liability in respect of their notes is unlimited. Some of them have a large number of branches. All the joint-stock banks allow interest on money deposited with them. The total paid-up capital and reserves of the English joint-stock banks is about L100,000,000.

_Scotland_.--In Scotland there are no private banks, the only banks in that portion of the United Kingdom being eight joint-stock banks of issue, and their branches (the Mercantile and Savings not being banks of issue). By the Act of 1845 new banks of issue were prohibited, a monopoly being given to such establishments (nineteen in number) as existed in the year previous to 1st May, 1845. At the same time the issue of each was limited to the amount of its average circulation during that year, together with the specie held at the head office. Any bank issuing notes in excess of this limit is supposed to hold an equivalent amount of gold. The aggregate authorized circulation is now L2,676,350; the average actual circulation is fully L7,000,000. The Bank of Scotland, established by Act of Parliament in 1695, had for its original capital only L100,000, increased to L200,000 in 1744; but it now has a capital of L1,325,000 paid up. It remained the only bank in Scotland till the Royal Bank of Scotland was established in 1727, with an original capital of L151,000, which has grown to L2,000,000 paid up. The British Linen Company was incorporated in 1746, for the purpose of promoting the linen manufacture, but soon became a general banking company; capital, L1,250,000 paid up. These three banks claim to be by their charters banks of limited liability. All the other Scottish banks have been established within the nineteenth century. They are all incorporated by royal charter or Act of Parliament, which enables them to sue and be sued as a corporation, and latterly they have all become banks of limited liability, except that their liability is not to be limited in respect to their note issue. The total paid-up capital of the Scotch banks is L9,300,000. A large number of one-pound notes circulate in Scotland, thus tending to keep the requirements for gold low. From allowing a moderate rate of interest on deposit accounts (although not on current accounts) it is not uncommon for depositors in Scottish banks to lodge their money permanently as an investment; and the habit of keeping an account with a banker is much more general in Scotland than in England, branch offices of the banks being very numerous. Several of the Scotch banks have branch offices in London, but of course they cannot issue their own notes from these offices. The Scotch banks have enjoyed a high reputation for stability, and though public confidence was somewhat shaken by the failure of the Western Bank in 1857, and even more rudely by that of the City of Glasgow Bank in 1878, their shares are generally looked upon as a safe and remunerative investment. Their total deposits amount to fully L107,000,000.

_Ireland._--The banks in Ireland consist of one public or national bank, the Bank of Ireland, and of sundry joint-stock and private banks. The authorized note circulation is arranged on the same footing as that of the Scotch banks. If any bank discontinues its issue and issues notes of the Bank of Ireland, the circulation of the latter may be to an equal amount increased. The authorized circulation is L6,354,494; the actual circulation is sometimes a little above, sometimes a little below. The Bank of Ireland, which was established by charter in 1783 with similar privileges to those granted to the Bank of England, has lent the greater portion of its capital to Government. Its capital is L2,769,230 (or L3,000,000 Irish); it has also a rest or reserve of over L1,000,000. The bank allows interest on deposits when lodged for a stated period.

_Banque de France._--The Bank of France is second in importance only to the Bank of England. It was established in the beginning of the nineteenth century, at first with a capital of 45,000,000 francs, and with the exclusive privilege in Paris of issuing notes payable to bearer, a privilege which was extended in 1848 to cover the whole of France. It has numerous branches in the larger towns, a number of these having been acquired in 1848, when certain joint-stock banks of issue were by Government decree incorporated with the Bank of France, the capital of which was then increased to 91,250,000 francs (L3,650,000), in 91,250 shares of 1000 francs each. In 1857 the capital was doubled, and besides this it has a large surplus capital or rest. Like the Bank of England, it is a bank of deposit, discount, and circulation, and is a large creditor of the State. The Government appoints the governor and the two deputy-governors, who are all required to be stockholders. There is also a body of fifteen directors and three censors, nominated by the shareholders. The value of its note circulation in March, 1922, was 36,225,852,000 francs.

_British Colonies._--With regard to the banks in British colonies little need be said. All the more important are joint-stock concerns, and they are carried on subject to Acts passed by the respective colonial legislatures. Some of them have their head-quarters in London, and have been established by English capital. In Canada the banks are not allowed to issue notes of lower denominations than five dollars, notes for one and two dollars and higher amounts being issued by the Dominion Government; and the banking laws are such that there is no possibility of holders of bank-notes being losers by them. The total paid-up capital of the Canadian banks is about L20,000,000; their total deposits about L135,000,000.

_United States._--The more important of the banks of the United States are what are called national banks, established in accordance with an Act passed in 1863. Associations of this kind at starting must invest at least a third of their paid-up capital in Government bonds, which pay them an interest of 4 per cent more or less. They then obtain from the Government bureau, established for the purpose, 90 per cent of paper-money sheets, which they sign and pay out, this constituting their note circulation. These banks pay no interest to depositors. Besides the notes of these banks a large portion of the currency of the United States consists of Government notes issued from the national treasury. There are also banks chartered by the different States and private banks.

_Savings-banks_ are banks established for the receiving of small sums, so as to be taken advantage of by the poorer classes, and they are carried on entirely for the benefit of the depositors. They are of comparatively recent origin, one of the earliest having been an institution in which small sums were received, and interest allowed on them, established by Mrs. Priscilla Wakefield, at Tottenham, near London, in 1803. The first savings-bank in Scotland was formed in 1810 by the Rev. Henry Duncan, of Ruthwell, Dumfriesshire. In 1814 the Edinburgh savings-bank was established on the same principles, and the system soon spread over the kingdom. The first Act relating to savings-banks was passed in 1817. By it all deposits in savings-banks, as soon as they reached L50, were placed in the hands of the National Debt Commissioners, who allowed interest on them. In 1824 it was enacted that the deposits for the first year should not exceed L50, nor those in subsequent years L30, the total deposits being limited to L150, and interest ceasing to be paid when accrued interest made the total L200. By the Act of 1893 the limit of annual deposit was raised to L50, and the interest is now rather less than 3 per cent. An Act of 1833 had provided for the purchase of Government annuities by depositors either for life or for a term of years; and an annuity of any amount up to L100 may now be obtained. Depositors in savings-banks (by an Act of 1880) can also have their money invested for them in Government stock, the banks collecting and paying the dividends; and when accrued interest raises an account above L200 the excess is now so invested for the depositor. The total amount invested by one person in Government stock is not to exceed L500, nor L200 in one year. These banks are managed by local trustees having no personal interest in the business, and by certain paid officers. A new class of savings-banks, namely, _Post Office Savings-banks_, was established in Britain in connection with the money-order department of the Post Office in 1861. Any sum not less than a shilling is received, provided that the total amount banked does not exceed L50 in one year, or more than L200 in all; the excess of accrued interest above this being invested in Government stock. Interest is paid on every complete pound at the rate of 2-1/2 per cent. For the deposits the Government is responsible, and they may be drawn from any Post Office Savings-bank in the kingdom. These savings-banks have become very numerous, and much of the funds formerly in the trustees' savings-banks has been transferred to them. The total amount deposited in the old banks is now about L52,000,000, in the new about L157,600,000. The regulations regarding the purchase of Government stock and annuities correspond with those given above. Savings-banks are now well known in all civilized countries, and the good they have done is incalculable. In the United States there is an enormous amount of money deposited in them. Post Office Savings-banks have been proposed to be established in the States, but have not yet been so. In Canada, Australia, and other British colonies they are established, as well as savings-banks of several other kinds. School savings-banks are the most recent institutions of this kind, and have had a marked effect for good.

_Bank Holidays_, in England and Ireland, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Whit Monday, first Monday in August, Christmas and following day, or 27th (if next day is a Sunday); in Scotland, New-Year's Day, first Monday of May and August and Christmas.

BANKRUPT (from It. _banca rotta_ 'bank broken' or 'bench broken'. Dr. Johnson said that the word originated from the Italian custom of breaking the bench of an insolvent money-changer; but _rotta_ also means 'interrupted' or 'stopped', and is here used more in the sense of our colloquial word _broken_, and means 'insolvent'), a person whom the law does or may take cognizance of as unable to pay his debts. Properly it is of narrower signification than _insolvent_, an insolvent person simply being unable to pay all his debts. In England up till 1861 the term _bankrupt_ was limited to an insolvent trader, and such traders were on a different footing from other insolvent persons, the latter not getting the same legal relief from their debts. In all civilized communities laws have been passed regarding bankruptcy. At present bankruptcy in England is regulated by the Bankruptcy Acts of 1883 and 1890, which have as one chief feature the intervention of the Board of Trade in the proceedings, with the object of obtaining full official supervision and control. A bankruptcy petition may be presented either by a creditor or a debtor. A creditor's petition must be founded on a debt of not less than fifty pounds, due to one or more creditors, and on an 'act of bankruptcy' committed by the debtor within three months before the presentation of the petition. A debtor commits an act of bankruptcy if he makes a conveyance of his property to a trustee for the benefit of his creditors; if he makes a fraudulent transfer of any part of his property; if, to defeat or delay his creditors, he conceal himself either at home or abroad; if execution issued against him has been enforced by seizure and sale of his goods under process in an action in any court; if he files in court a declaration of inability to pay his debts, or presents a bankruptcy petition against himself; if a creditor has obtained a final judgment against him for any amount and he fail to pay the judgment debt without satisfactory reason; or if the debtor gives notice to any of his creditors that he has suspended, or is about to suspend, payment of his debts. In London jurisdiction in bankruptcy now rests with the High Court of Justice, while the county courts continue to have jurisdiction in bankruptcy outside the London district. When the court is satisfied as to the petition, a 'receiving order' is issued to protect the debtor's estate by constituting the official appointed by the Board of Trade receiver of the debtor's property, and to stay the remedies of all creditors until the meeting of creditors. The debtor must make out a full statement of his affairs, accounting as best he can for his insolvency. The official receiver summons the meeting of creditors, a summary of the debtor's affairs being sent to each creditor with the notice of the meeting, which is also advertised in the _London Gazette_. The creditors must send to the official receiver, one day before the meeting, sworn proofs of their claims to enable them to vote. At the meeting the creditors (unless the debtor's proposal for a composition or scheme be entertained) pass a resolution adjudging the debtor bankrupt, and appoint a trustee of the bankrupt's property, with a committee of inspection selected from their own body to superintend the administration of the bankrupt's property by the trustee, who divides the available realized assets amongst all creditors who have sent sworn proofs of claims. Rates, assessments, and taxes, and all wages or salary of a clerk, servant, labourer, or workman during four months before the date of the receiving order not exceeding L50 are paid in priority to all other debts. The trustee is required to give satisfactory security to the Board of Trade, by which his accounts are audited not less than twice in each year. All moneys received by the trustee under the bankruptcy must be paid forthwith to an account kept at the Bank of England by the Board of Trade, called the 'Bankruptcy Estates Account'. The debtor is bound to be publicly examined upon oath in court, and any creditor who has tendered a proof, or his representative, may take part in the examination. Until the debtor has passed his public examination he cannot apply for an order of discharge, and upon proof of misdemeanour the court refuses or suspends the discharge. A discharged bankrupt is disqualified for five years from acting as member of Parliament, justice of peace, alderman, overseer of the poor, county councillor, or as a member of any school, highway, or burial board. An undischarged bankrupt obtaining credit to the extent of L20 or upwards from any person, without informing such person of his status, is guilty of a misdemeanour. By the Act of 1883 the creditors may at the first meeting resolve to entertain a proposal for a composition or scheme of arrangement of the debtor's affairs, but the composition or scheme shall not be binding on the creditors, unless confirmed at a second meeting by a majority in number representing three-fourths in value of all the creditors who have proved. The composition or scheme has then to be formally brought before the court for approval, which may be refused. A composition or scheme may be sanctioned by the court after the debtor's adjudication as a bankrupt, and in this case the bankruptcy is annulled. Though imprisonment for debt has been abolished, fraudulent bankrupts may be punished, and the conduct of prosecutions for offences arising out of any bankruptcy proceeding falls to the public prosecutor. The estates of persons dying insolvent may be administered according to the law of bankruptcy. The Act of 1913 embodies suggestions of the Bankruptcy Law Amendment Committee of 1906. Thus, the Summary Jurisdiction Act can now be applied to offenders under the Debtors' Act. Whereas previously conviction for such offences as failure to keep proper accounts and concealment of debt could only be by trial before a jury, they are punishable after summary trial before a stipendiary magistrate or justice of the peace, the onus of proving innocence falling on the debtor. A married woman, too, may be made bankrupt even if not trading separately from her husband.

According to Scots law bankruptcy is notorious insolvency, that is, a public acknowledgment of inability to discharge obligations. By a judicial proceeding, called _sequestration_, authorized by the Court of Session or sheriff court, on the petition of the debtor himself with the concurrence of one creditor swearing to a debt of L50, two whose debts together amount to L70, or of any number of creditors whose debts together amount to L100; or on the petition of a creditor or creditors to the foregoing extent without the concurrence of the debtor, if he has clearly shown himself to be insolvent (or a _notour bankrupt_), the whole estates and effects of the debtor, real and personal, are legally taken for behoof of the creditors. The debtor's estate is then made over to a trustee chosen by the creditors, the trustee being charged to bring the whole estate into the form of money, with certain precautions, and to receive, investigate, and reject or admit the claims of the creditors, subject to review of the Court of Session or sheriff court by summary petition. The debtor, and all who can give information as to the estate, must submit to public examination on oath before the sheriff of the county, and the debtor may thereafter, or by petition after six, twelve, or eighteen months from sequestration, be discharged of all debts by the court with consent of the creditors or a number of them, or at the expiry of two years without consent. These proceedings may be partly superseded by 'composition' if such be assented to by a majority in number and nine-tenths in value of creditors, or by a majority in number and four-fifths in value of the creditors, according to the period at which such arrangement may be proposed. They may also be terminated by a deed of arrangement entered into between the bankrupt and a majority in number and four-fifths in value of his creditors, approved of by the court. Before a discharge is given there must be a report from the trustee as to the conduct of the bankrupt, whether he has complied with the provisions of the Act, whether his bankruptcy is culpable or not, &c. Before the abolition of imprisonment for ordinary civil debts by Act passed in 1880, an insolvent debtor often took advantage of a form of process by which, on making a complete _cessio bonorum_, or surrender to his creditors of all his property, he might obtain protection from imprisonment. Though no person can now be imprisoned for ordinary debts, a creditor of a _notour_ bankrupt may present a petition to the sheriff, praying him to decern that the debtor assign over all his goods for behoof of his creditors and that a trustee be appointed; and this proceeding is still designated a process of _cessio bonorum_. The Act of 1880 also provides for the better punishment of fraudulent debtors in Scotland. If the debtor's liabilities exceed L200, the sheriff may award _sequestration_ of the debtor's estate instead of _cessio bonorum_. There is no appeal from the sheriff's decision with respect to discharge.

In Ireland there is a special code of bankruptcy contained in special Acts, differing to some extent from the regulations prevailing both in England and Scotland. Thus in Ireland it is not an offence for an undischarged bankrupt to obtain credit to any amount without disclosing the fact of his bankruptcy. All bankruptcy business comes before the court at Dublin, Belfast, or Cork. Imprisonment for debt was abolished in 1872.

Official returns in Great Britain show a tendency towards a smaller number of failures, but a larger amount of money is involved.

In the different British colonies the laws regulating bankruptcy naturally differ, and the same is the case with the individual States of the American Union, though Congress has the power of legislating for the whole country in regard to this, and has oftener than once done so.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: H. Goudy, _Treatise of the Law of Bankruptcy in Scotland_; Sir R. H. J. Palgrave, _Dictionary of Political Economy_; E. T. Baldwin, _The Law of Bankruptcy and Bills of Sale_; Sir R. L. V. Williams, _The Law and Practice of Bankruptcy_; R. Ringwood, _The Principles of Bankruptcy_.

BANKS, Sir Joseph, Baronet, a distinguished naturalist, born in London 1743. After studying at Harrow and Eton he went to Oxford in 1760, and formed there amongst his fellow-undergraduates a voluntary class in botany, &c. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1766, and soon after went to Newfoundland and Hudson's Bay to collect plants. In 1768, with Dr. Solander, a Swedish gentleman, pupil of Linnaeus, and then assistant librarian at the British Museum, he accompanied Cook's expedition as naturalist. In 1772 he visited Iceland along with Dr. Solander, and during this voyage the Hebrides were examined, and the columnar formation of the rocks of Staffa first made known to geologists. In 1777 Banks was chosen President of the Royal Society, and in 1781 was made a baronet, and in 1795 received the Order of the Bath. He wrote only essays, papers for learned societies, and short treatises. He died in 1820, and bequeathed his collections to the British Museum.

BANKS, Thomas, an English sculptor, born in 1735, died in 1805. He studied sculpture in the Royal Academy, where he obtained the gold medal for a bas-relief of the _Rape of Proserpine_. In 1772 he went to Italy, where he executed several excellent pieces, particularly _Cupid tormenting a Butterfly_, which was afterwards purchased by the Empress Catherine. On leaving Italy he spent two unsatisfactory years in Russia, and then returned to England, where he was soon after made an Academician. One of his best-known works is _Shakespeare attended by Painting and Poetry_. Among his other works was a colossal statue--_Achilles mourning the loss of Briseis_--in the hall of the British Institution, and the monument of Sir Eyre Coote in Westminster Abbey. His bust of Warren Hastings is in the National Gallery.

BANK'SIA (named after Sir Joseph Banks), a genus of Australian shrubs and trees, order Proteaceae, with leathery leaves generally dark-green on the upper surface and pale below, often cultivated in conservatories for their peculiar foliage and flowers. They are named "honeysuckles" by the colonists, from the honey the flowers contain.

BANKS'RING. See _Banxring_.

BANKURA', a town of Bengal, on the Dhalkisor River, healthy and with a considerable trade Pop. 21,000.

BANN, Upper and Lower, two rivers in the N. of Ireland, the former rising in the mountains of Mourne, County Down, and, after flowing 38 miles in a northerly direction, falling into Lough Neagh, the latter being the outlet of Lough Neagh, and falling into the Atlantic Ocean 4 miles below Coleraine, after a course of nearly 40 miles.

BAN'NATYNE CLUB, a literary society instituted in Edinburgh (1823) by Sir Walter Scott (its first president), David Laing (secretary till its dissolution in 1861), Archibald Constable, and Thomas Thomson. It started with thirty-one members, subsequently extended to 100, having as its object the printing of rare works on Scottish history, literature, geography, &c. It derived its name from George Bannatyne (1545-1609), the collector of the famous MS. of early Scottish poetry.

BAN'NERET, formerly, in England, a knight made on the field of battle as a reward for bravery, with the ceremony of cutting off the point of his pennon and making it a banner. The first banneret in England was made by King Edward I, and the last (John Smith) by Charles I after the battle of Edgehill in 1642.

BAN'NOCK, a cake made of oatmeal, barley-meal, or peasemeal baked on an iron plate or griddle over the fire. From a supposed resemblance the turbot is sometimes called in Scotland the _Bannock-fluke_.

BANNOCKBURN, a village of Scotland, in Stirlingshire, 2 miles S.E. Stirling, famous for the decisive battle in which King Robert Bruce of Scotland defeated Edward II of England, on the 24th June, 1314. It has manufactures of woollens, such as tartans, carpets, &c.; pop. 4103.