are always at the head of everything which they think likely to support tyranny.  The depositors will be domestic servants, particularly women, who will be tickled with the idea of having a fortune in the funds.  The Boroughmongers will hint to their tenants that they must get their labourers into the Savings Banks.  A preference will be given to such as deposit.  The Ladies, the ‘Parsons’ Ladies,’ will scold poor people into the funds.  The parish officers will act their part in this compulsory process:  and thus will the Boroughmongers get into their hands some millions of the people’s money by a sort of ‘forced loan’:  or in other words, a robbery.  In order to swell the thing out, the parsons and other tools of the Boroughmongers will lend money in this way themselves, under feigned names; and we shall, if the system last a year or two, hear boastings of how rich the poor are become.

Now then, Jack, supposing it possible that Farmer Gripe may, under pain of being turned out of your cottage, have made you put your twopence a week into one of these banks, let us see what is the natural consequence of your so doing.  Twopence a week is eight shillings and eightpence a year; and the interest will make the amount about nine shillings perhaps.  What use is this to you?  Will you let it remain; and will you go on thus for years?  You must go on a great many years, indeed, before your deposit amounts to as much as the Boroughmongers take from you in one year!  Twopence will buy you a quarter of a pound of meat.  This is a dinner for your wife or yourself.  You never taste meat.  And why are you to give up half a pound of your bread to the Boroughmongers.  You are ill; your wife is ill; your children are ill.  ‘Go to the bank and take out your money,’ says the overseer; ‘for I’ll give you no aid till that be spent.’  Thus then, you will have been robbing your own starved belly weekly, to no other end than that of favouring the parish purse, upon which you have a just and legal claim, until the clergy restore to the poor what they have taken from them.  As the thing now stands, the poor are starved by others, this scheme is intended to make them assist in the work themselves, at the same time that it binds them to the tyranny.

But, Jack, what a monstrous thing is this, that the Boroughmongers should kindly pass an Act to induce you to save your money, while they take from you five shillings out of every nine that you earn?  Why not take less from you!  That would be the more natural way to go to work, surely.  Why not leave you all your earnings to yourself?  Oh, no!  They cannot do that.  It is from the labour of men like you that the far greater part of the money comes to enrich the Boroughmongers, their relations and dependants.