1184. [Mr. Spooner.] What did you mean by the expression, ’the last moment’?  You said that the letter came out at the last moment; the last moment of what?—­It was late in the day; it was a day of great distress.  For two days there was a great deal of anxiety, and everybody expected that there would be some relief; and it was when expectation, I suppose, was highly excited that the letter came, and it gave relief.

1185.  Cannot you tell us what your opinion would have been, if that last moment had happened to have elapsed, and the letter had not come?—­It is very difficult to say; it is too much to say that it could not have been got over.  There can be no doubt whatever that what created the difficulty existed out of London, and not in it; and therefore it is much more difficult for me to give an opinion.  I believe that the banking interest, both private and joint stock, was in a perfectly sound condition, and able to bear any strain which might have been brought upon it in London.

1186. [Mr. Hankey.] Can you give the Committee any idea as to what proportion of deposits you consider generally desirable to keep in reserve?—­You must be very much guided by circumstances.  In times of alarm, when there are failures, of course all bankers strengthen their reserves; our reserve then is larger.  In times of ordinary business we find, both as regards our deposits at interest as well as those which are not at interest, that there is a constant circulation; that the receipts of money very nearly meet the payments.

1187.  You probably keep at all times a certain amount of your deposits totally unemployed; in reserve?—­Yes.

1188.  In a normal state of commercial affairs, is there any fixed proportion, or can you give the Committee any idea of what you would consider about a fair and desirable proportion which should be so kept unemployed?—­I think the best idea which I can give upon that subject is to give our annual statement, or balance sheet, for the 31st of December.

1189.  Does that show what amount of unemployed money you had on that day?—­Yes.  I will put in a statement, which perhaps will be the best means of meeting the question, showing the cash in hand on the 30th of June and the 31st of December in every year, as shown by our published accounts, together with our money at call and our Government securities; that will be perhaps the best and most convenient way of giving the information you desire to have. (See Table below.)

1190.  Do you consider that when your deposits are materially on the increase it is necessary to keep a larger amount of money in reserve than you would keep at other times?—­I may say that, as a general rule, our reserve would always bear some proportion to our deposits.

Total Lodgments with London and Westminster Bank; also Amount of Cash in Hand, Moneys with Bill-Brokers at Call, and Government Securities held by the Bank.