BANKING OUT BACK

Evening Star, Issue 21092, 3 May 1932, Page 3

BANKING OUT BACK

AUSTRALIAN INCIDENTS In 18811 went to the western district of New South Wales, which was then in the throes of an “ old man ” drought (writes D. Armstrong, in the ‘ Sydney Morning Herald ’). Sheep could be purchased for Is and Is 6d per head (one is lucky to get 21b of mutton for that at present), and travelling sheep died in hundreds on the roads and on tho river banks adjoining townships. Wo had a young Englishman in the office who had brought a revolver out with him (ho must have thought he was coming amongst a bad lot), and he began shooting the sheep that \Vcre down to. end their suffering; but he soon ' und himself short of ammunition, and had to give up. Grasshoppers flew past our windows for weeks. There seemed to be no end to them. Wo had a customer (pastoralist) who sold-his property and had some seven thousand or eight thousand to play with. He told mo confidently that he had something better than grazing to mako money at, and this we learned later on was racehorses, on which x he spent the lot. On one occasion ho was very ill and supposed to be dying. He sent his son, and said he wanted to see me Thinking he wanted to fix up some business,' I visited him. He was in bed, and he said: ‘‘l have two horses running in tho handicap to-day (tho annual race meeting was being held). Put your shirt on the one named.” I thanked him, but 1 was not a racing man, and did not bet. The horse named did not get a place, and his other horse won. Later on he was financed into an hotel business, at which he made money, sold out, and eventually settled on the land again. After the 1893 crisis one of our customers sold sheep under mortgage to the bank, and put the proceeds in another bank. We heard of this later, and he was requested to call on tho manager, and taxed with tho transaction. He replied: “You’ll get your money, and you won’t be asked to accept ten shillings in the £ either.” We got our money in full, and later on he got gaol for some other offence.

Some seven or eight men owned a good gold mine some thirty miles from town, and when they had their periodical clean-up some of them came to town for a break. One in particular would come by coach, and arrive at the bank about five to 3. We would (ill up a cheque for, say, £3O, and he would nwiko his mark (x), as he could not write. Next morning, at 10 o’clock, lie would be in again, and say: “ Another thirty pounds, please,” and so on for about a week. UNSOPHISTICATED MINDS. A Chinaman who had money on fixed deposit, when told ho could not draw liia deposit owing to the bank’s suspension in 1893, said to me (I was teller at the time, and had received bis money in the first instance); “ You givem mo my money I givem you; if you don’t I summons you,” his voice rising higher and higher, and as heads bobbed up round the office to see what was the matter, he turned to each and said, “ And I summons you and you and you,” giving each one the same throat. It was an unfortunate position, but, of course, wo could not help it. On another occasion a blackfellow came in and asked for a cheque book. When informed lie did not have an account be said: “ But I want a cheque book; I want to draw some cheques.” Old N., a caretaker and a down-and-out, bad a sister fairly well off, and when she died N. made inquiry as to whether she bad left him anything. When told no, be said: “Ob, well, if she was my sister she was the biggest

scoundrel that ever lived, so she was.” He was evidently very much annoyed at being overlooked in her will. An old gentleman (well off]) was much annoyed at having to pay income tax, and when sending cheque in payment of same covered the back of the cheque abusing all and sundry who were responsible for this iniquitous tax. I wonder what his remarks would have been when and if he had to pay land tax and all other taxes at present in force. Cno old lady stated on all her cheques the full purpose for which they were drawn. Some that I remember were:—“Pay H.T. the sum of 25s to enable him to buy a shirt and a pair of trousers while I can spare it.” “ Pay Mrs M.P. five pounds to enable her to purchase a poultry farm; she hopes to succeed, and I hope she does, while I can spare it.” “Pay bearer loan £5. This must stop, the last, no more, while I can spare it.” She had a nephew and niece at school, and used to send them money by cheque in this way: “ Pay Master J.B. £2 10s 6d, the sixpence is for II—,” tho niece. All cheques finished with “ while I can spare it.” When she died her will was proved at over £30,000. Ono manager (now deceased) was rather absent-minded. Ho was walking across the office one day, and went to speak to a deaf lady who carried an ear trdmpct. This was on a table where she was writing, and the manager picked up the trumpet, and putting it to his own ear commenced talking to the lady, much to the amusement of tliose looking on. On another occasion, when a cheque was referred to him for payment or refusal, he said: “What is the security for the account?” and when told certain scrip and a life policy he said; “Oh, that’s no good; he might take ill and die ” (ho had recently been very seriously ill), and ho was evidently thinking of this, forgetting that if he did die tho life policy would pay the debt in full. In a similar event, when he asked what was the security for the account, and was told “ debentures,” he asked if they were “ fully paid.” An old officer in Sydney who prided himself on his ability to imitate the crowing of a rooster, on one occasion when one of tho staff had a rooster at the back of the premises which started crowing, the old gentleman, thinking someone was trying tho crowing business, put his head out and said: “ Not a bit like it.” A certain inspector (since deceased) who was well known to enjoy himself on his trips out, when making out his memo, of expenses, added underneath, “ I spent more.” Under which the G.M. wrote, “I iyn sure you did.” Of course, the “ more ” covered items which could not bo included in his memo, of expenses which wero paid by the bank.