HISTORY OF BANKING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19124, 16 September 1925, Page 15

HISTORY OF BANKING.

AN INTERESTING ADDRESS. TRANSACTIONS IN CHEQUES. A short address cn banking was given by Mr. H. F. O. Twigden at the fortnightly luncheon of the Karangahape Road Business Promotion Society yesterday. Mr. Twigden, in outlining the relationship between business men.and their bankers, stated that the general public did not realise the inestimable service of a banker to the community. The origin of banking was lost in antiquity, but there were traces of the existence of banks as far back as 1000 B.C. Banking was an established profession in Roman times and was introduced into England by the Jews in the time of William the Conqueror. The profession then went into the hands of the London goldsmiths and that was tho origin of the Bank of London. Ho quoted a cheque that had been drawn on one of these goldsmith-bankers : "Mr. Jackson, pray pay to the bearer herewith, Mr. Daniel Smocker, £5 and place, to the credit of your loving friend John Wynyard." Not every banker today would like being called "a loving friend."

Cheaues were defined by Mr. Twigden as bills of exchange payable by the banker on demand. The various methods of making out cheques were touched on find the speaker laid stress on the risk taken in accepting a post-dated cheque. If anything happened to tho drawer in tho meantime it would become valueless. He passed on to the endorsing of cheques, outlining the correct .method in various particular cases and then discussed negotiability. He differentiated between a crossed cheque and one crossed, but with "not negotiable" written across it. An ordinary crOssed cheque could be transferred again and again j it was in effect a chattel like a sovereign or some other coin. The addition of tho words "not negotiable" made it different, 1 If. a cheque marked thus was stolen and passed on to a shopkeeper who accepted it in good faith he could bo made to refund the money. ' Once a cheque had been cashed at a bank, its functions theoretically ceased. Money passed over tho counter could never ,bo returned. Mr. Twigden mentioned the case 'of an old woman who was about to open an account with a bank. In filling in the bank slip under the headings of "bills, cheques and specie." she managed the first two successfully, and after some thought entered the third as "female." It was not advisable to uso chequing machines which printed "not negotiable across the face of the cheques, but omitted the two parallel lines. These were essential. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded Mr. Twigden for his address. Two songs were given by. Miss Lois Evans.