RUN ON SAVINGS BANK.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19730, 1 September 1927, Page 6

RUN ON SAVINGS BANK.

HISTORIC ANNIVERSARY..

MEMORABLE DAY fN 1893. ONSLAUGHT BY DEPOSITORS. PANIC PROVES SHORT-LIVED. To-day marks the thirty-fourth anniversary of a memorable incident" in the history of the Auckland Savings Bank. On Friday, September 1, 1893, there set in a sensational " run " on the bank; . which was described in the Herald of the following day as " one of the most senseless and "unreasoning panics which Jias ever occurred in the history of the city of Auckland." Fortunately, th*. onslaught by depositors was as short-, lived as it was violent. By nightfall the rush had spent its force, and the i'ollow ing day the amounts deposited were more than double the withdrawals. There are several theories as to what - actually started the rush, and all the factors wili probably never be quite definitely known, but it is clear the panic occurred at a time when the public was nervous about investments and ready to fall a prey to idle rumour. A permanent building society had just failed, and the Loan and Mercantile Company had been suspended. A rumour, without foundation in fact, started to the effect that the Savings Bank had funds invested in these institutions, and was ' involved in their difficulties. In such circumstances the atmosphere was all prepared for a sudden panic. Manager's Vivid Memories. Mr. Clem. Bartley, the present manager of the bank, is one who will carry to the end very vivid memories of the " run "of 1893. He was manager of the Newton branch, and had been staying over at Birkdale. When he stepped off the ferry boat that Friday morning, the manager, Mr, R. Cameron, was on the wharf to meet him. He told Mr. Bartley there was trouble brewing, and that he had better call at the head office to get an extra supply of money. Outside the bank in Queen Street they found a large, excited crowd already gathered, and the traffic in the street blocked. They had to make their way in by a backentrance. At the Newton branch Mr. Bartley found a similar scene. His own house attached to the bank was crowded with personal friends who had come to seek his advice privately on the situation. From ten o'clock until five, without a moment's slackening, Mr. Bartley dealt as rapidly as one man could with the demands of a close-packed, excited, struggling mob. Confusion was inevitable, and when money was pushed back across the counter it was not invariably the hand of its lawful owner that grabbed it first. The only threat of lawlessness was when a big man began to climb over to get at the money behind the counter, but the attentions of a policeman soon brought him back. Impressive Supply of Gold. One of the directors, Captain Daldv, lent most va! table assistance by banging gold from tts head office, and the Bank of New Zea and at Newton provided an- - other large f upplv. It was by means of this that Mr. -Bartley eventually won the day. He spread out a great heap of golden sovereigns within sight of all, and when the distracted gaze of the depositors fell upon these it had a very steadying effect. They began to wonder if the situation was really so bad after all. The rush, nerve-racking as it was for the bank officials, was not without its amusing side in retrospect. The depositors who* caused the most trouble were not the substantial men with an account of £IOO or more, but the investors of 10s or £l. The larger depositors mostly regarded the position calmly, but those with next to nothing at stake were easily foremost in the furious struggle. So short-lived was the panic that when Mr. Bartley opened his branch again in the evening all the cash began to come back again, and he had just as much trouble taking it in in the evening as he had had paying it out in the day. Cabdriver's Provocative Act. It is firmly held by some that the final spark that set the tender-box alight was the action of a cabdriver, who called at the bank just before closing-time on Thursday to draw a large amount. He was told he could not get it until next morning. Thereupon he walked down Queen Street holding his bank book aloft and shouting out that the bank was unable to pay him. In the existing condition of popular feeling this action had sensational results. As for the cabdriver, his vehicles had a busy time taking people to the bank. The Herald of the day describes men and women scrambling and. struggling to elbow their way to the pay-counter, and big hulking fellows pushing the women on one side without the slightest consideration. The police took prompt precautions to protect those .who succeeded in withdrawing money from the attentions of thieves, but a few suffered loss at their hands. Cue lady lost a cheque for £BO on the Ba.\k of New Zealand, and when she went to stop payment she found it had been cashed already. Many attempts were made by responsible officials to quell the panic, but thry were powerless in the face of the popular frenzy. Extraordinary Scene In Bank-room. When the head office closed for an • hour at four o'clock the bank-room sented an extraordinary scene. The floor was littered with rubbish of all sorts, including torn cheque-forms and withdrawal-slips, lost gloves, torn handkerchiefs, pieces of dresses, buttons, latch-keys, and much more, all eloquent of the fierceness of the encounter. Calm reason, which had so completely deserted depositors for- the time being, quickly returned to them, and as scon as it did tho trustees were . able to satisfy them there had not been the slightest ground for their anxiety. The whole of the liabilities of the bank were represented by unimpeachable securities, and the trustees were quite ready to pay cash on demand to any and every depositor. The bank had resources amounting to £549,420, including a reserve fund of £30,000 in excess of its liabilities. The following day the trustees expressed their • gratitude to the Government for the prompt and effective assistance given by the Bank of New Zealand in meeting the emergency. If the position of the Auckland Savings Bank was unassailable in 1893 it is vastly stronger to-day, and any repetition of such an unreasoning panic seems quite unthinkable. People to-day. are betterinformed, and therefore less easily victimised. When the bank celebrated its eightieth anniversary at the beginning of last June its funds totalled £5,274,9?'3. A margin of about £2.250,000 exists before the reserve of £455.000 can be called upon. This should suffice.