The post office and its story an interesting account of the activities of a great government department

In order to bring out clearly what are the benefits of which I have spoken, let me state briefly the possibilities which are open to a man who becomes a depositor. He goes to any post office where Savings Bank business is transacted, and after signing a declaration and depositing any sum, not containing fractions of a shilling, up to £50, a book is handed to him in which his transactions are recorded. That book can be used at any Post Office Savings Bank in the United Kingdom for deposits or withdrawals. He can deposit £50 in any year until a total of £200 is reached, and in addition he can replace the amount of one withdrawal made during any year. Further, he can invest in six different kinds of Government Stock to the amount of £200 Stock in a year, or £500 Stock in all, and he can make special deposits to cover his investments, irrespective of the limits fixed for his deposit account. Roughly speaking, he can therefore hold £200 in his deposit account and at the same time be the possessor, through the medium of the Post Office, of Stock of the nominal value of £500. The smallest amount of Stock he can purchase is one shilling. Means are provided by which he can transfer his Stock from time to time to the books of the Bank of England, and so enable him to continue purchasing Stock by means of his deposit account. Or he can buy a Stock certificate with coupons for dividends annexed. The commission on every transaction is considerably below that charged by a stockbroker.