to help themselves,' in
provincial towns and in the country, where we are personally acquainted
with each other, than in London, where we do not know our next-door
neighbour. _To help the poor to help themselves_ is the cardinal
principle of the Yorkshire Penny Bank."[1]

[Footnote 1 e Yorkshire Penny Bank, a Narrative; with an Introduction by
Edward Akroyd, M.P.]

The business of the bank commenced on the 1st of May, 1859. At the end
of the year, when the bank had been in operation seven months,
twenty-four branches had been opened. It went on increasing in the
number of branches and depositors, and in the amounts deposited. In
1874, about two hundred and fifty branches had been established, and the
amount of investments in the names of trustees had reached nearly four
hundred thousand pounds.

The Yorkshire Penny Bank does not interfere with the Post Office Savings
Bank. It has a special function, that of teaching the young of either
sex _the habit of saving_. It is also convenient to the adult worker as
a convenient receptacle for his savings. Many have been induced to save,
in consequence of the banks having been brought almost to their very
doors. One of the most remarkable facts connected with the history of
Penny Banks is the sympathetic influence of juvenile thrift upon
paternal recklessness and intemperance. The fact is well worthy the
consideration of Temperance advocates, who would probably effect much
greater practical good by enabling working people to save their money in
the Penny Banks, than by any speech-making agency. Take, for instance,
the following illustrations from Mr. Akroyd's narrative:--

An actuary says: "All the juvenile depositors seem inclined to take care
of their pence by depositing them in the bank; and the grown-up people
have become of the same turn of mind,--rather than carry their loose
money to the public-house, or spend it foolishly. Some factory
operatives have saved sufficient to buy stock and commence farming."

Another actuary says: "A drunken father being shamed out of his
drunkenness by the deposits of his children, now deposits half-a-crown a
week in the bank. A notoriously bad man, a collier, became a regular
depositor himself, as well as depositing money in the name of his child;
all his spare money having previously been spent in drink. From the date
of his beginning to save, a perceptible improvement took place in his
conduct and character. In another case, two boys