44

though the correspondence continued until
January 1850, the matter having been ultimately submitted to Lord Grey, the application was refused—no valid reasons having
been urged against the justice of the claim,
the Government contenting themselves with
saying that they had determined to treat all
holders of debentures alike in this respect.
The Committee have the satisfaction of feeling
that they neglected no means by which the
claim could in any way be urged, and that
unsuccessful as it was, it entailed no expense
upon the Bank, the whole of the labour having been performed by their own Secretary.

There are two points connected with the
working of the Bank to which the Committee
would now especially refer.

First.—Receipt and Repayment of Deposits.—The convenience of depositors has
for a considerable period been the only rule by
which the times of receipt and repayment have
been regulated. For some time after the establishment of the Bank, attendance was given
in the Union Bank on Mondays from 12 till
1 o’clock, and at Mr. Ross’s office, and afterwards at Mr. Moore’s on Saturday evenings
from 7 o’clock till 8, but it was found that the
greater proportion of the depositors preferred
handing the money to the Actuary, or to one of
the officers of the Union Bank, who were always
kindly permitted and as kindly willing to aid
in this particular, while repayments have in
like manner been made virtually on demand
by a cheque drawn by the Actuary and countersigned first by Mr. M’Donald and subsequently
by Mr. Raymond, as trustees of the Bank; the
position of these gentlemen as managers of
the Union Bank, enabling depositors to obtain
their signatures, and consequently the money,
without difficulty or delay. Conformity with
the regulations prescribed by the Act now
passed will make some alteration necessary;
but the Committee respectfully recommend to
their successors to endeavour to make such
alteration, without impairing the efficiency or
utility of the Bank. For the sake of distinctness, the Committee add that their present rule is to pay on demand, any sums not
exceeding £10, and any sums exceeding that
amount upon fourteen days’ notice.

Secondly.—Audit.—From the commencement of the Bank the accounts have been
audited quarterly, so far as examining the
Books and Balance Sheet which the Actuary
prepared; but in August 1850, at the suggestion of Mr. M’Donald, the Committee adopted
the system of audit recommended in England
by Mr. J. R. Porter, the distinctive character
of which is, that the account of every depositor
is designated in his pass-book and in the Bank
ledger by a number, and these numbers, and
the balances at the credit of each, are transcribed at the end of each quarter, into a book
kept for the purpose of recording the quarterly
balances and statements, and also on to a
separate sheet. These balances being compared by the Auditors, and the statement
signed by them, the original is handed to the
publishers of the Wellington Independent who
print the same in their paper (under contract
with the Committee), so that every depositor
can compare his own account with the printed
statement, and satisfy himself of its correctness
in his individual case, while at the same time
necessary privacy is maintained, as no one but
the Actuary and the Auditors know any more
than the numbers and balances of the accounts.
The Balance Sheet is also certified by the
Auditors, and published together with
Quarterly and Annual statements, which show
the assets and liabilities, and the general progress of the Bank.

During the past year the Committee have
been considerably inconvenienced by the great
increase of deposits, and the want of means to
invest the money in Government securities,
which, by their own rule, was the only mode
in which the depositors’ money could be invested. The issue of debentures by the Provincial Government has removed this difficulty;
and as by the terms of the Act the Local Government is pledged to afford assistance to the
extent of £500 in case of emergency, the Committee have felt justified in applying for debentures to the extent of £1500, which will
enable the Bank to carry on its operations
without trenching upon its reserved funds.
The interest paid to depositors was maintained at 4 per cent. per annum until July,
1848, when the Committee were obliged to reduce it to 3 per cent., and even at that rate
the Committee have only been able to pay interest and expenses by making temporary use
of their Building Fund, to which they are now
indebted £12.

The present position of the Bank will be
seen by the accounts which the Committee
now submit, and they only add that the 142
accounts now current may be classified thus:

Deposits not exceeding £1..................... 14
Do. exceeding £1 and not exceeding £2..... 5
Do. " " £2 " " £5........ 33
Do. " " £5 " " £10....... 43
Do. " " £10 " " £20..... 19
Do. " " £20 " " £50..... 41
Do. " " £50 " " £100.... 13
Do. of £100 and upwards..................... 9