1,000 • These accounts are made up annually. † Including liability of customers for acceptances and endorsements, Net profits for the year. § Column 16 includes British Government Stock if held and not separately stated. a) Liability under Charter in event of liquidation. (b) This consists of £2,212,969 Paid-up Capital, less £1,036,371 estimated deficiency in connection with The Special Assets Trust Co., Ltd. (c) Including £3,091,669 Interminable Inscribed Deposit Stock and £300,000 Treasury Notes Deposit. d) Including Inscribed Stock Deposits. PRIVATE BANKERS' BALANCE SHEETS. In £'s sterling, 000 omitted, thus: -£1,000 - £1,000,000. Barnard, Thomas, & Co.... Sept30 None Bank. Beckett's Banks Child & Co. *Coutts & Co. *Cox & Co. Hoare, Charles, & Co. Robarts, Lubbock & Co.... Jan.31 None 500 Simonds, John and Chas., and Co. • Registered as a Company with unlimited liability. † Including liability of customers for acceptances and endorsements. (a) Contingent liability, £1,031,849 not included. Column 9 includes British Government Stock if held and not separately stated. The Institute of Bankers. OCTOBER, 1910. NOTES ON RECENT EVENTS. The past history of international conferences affords but little basis for optimism when considering the probable results of any such meeting, but in the case of the Conference on Bills of Exchange which sat at the Hague in June last, and to which thirty-nine States sent delegates, there has been a feeling of expectation The International at The Hague. that some practical results would follow, a feeling engendered by the knowledge that the existing differences in the laws of the principal countries offer no apparently insuperable obstacles to a measure of uniformity, and also by the fact that the existence of an international mercantile custom has to some extent smoothed the way for legal uniformity. The Council of the Institute has already, in reply to the enquiries of the Board of Trade, expressed their opinion that a completely uniform law, such for instance as would be accomplished by the adoption of an international code, is, for the present, impossible. Differences in the general principles underlying the legal systems of individual countries, and in the judicial systems by which the laws are administered, render such complete uniformity a matter of extreme difficulty. But an approximation to uniformity has been deemed quite feasible, and we all hope that when the report of the Conference is published it will give ground for the expectation of an early attainment of such a measure of uniformity. The selection of the delegates to represent this country has given every reason for confidence that each proposal would receive full and efficient consideration, and has met with general approval. Sir George Buchanan, Minister Plenipotentiary at the Hague, fitly represented the diplomatic body, while Sir Mackenzie Chalmers, the draughtsman of the Bills of Exchange Act, possesses claims to B an intimate knowledge of the law of the subject, which are beyond dispute and are so well known to our members as to require no further explanation. The other delegate, our President, Mr. F. Huth Jackson, is peculiarly fitted to represent both banking and mercantile interests, because not only is he in close touch with bankers by reason of his position as a director of the Bank of England, but also, as a partner in the accepting house of Messrs. F. Huth and Co., he has necessarily acquired an extensive knowledge of and sympathy with the mercantile point of view in considering the subject. We hope to hear from the President's own lips the story of the Conference. Annual Examinations. The reports of the Examiners this year reveal no departure from the tendencies exhibited by candidates for the past few years. The Examiner in English Composition and Banking Correspondence deplores a continuance of the weakness shown by many candidates. Probably too many candidates consider the ability to write letters to be a natural gift not requiring study, but in reality this is far from the case, and in default of greater experience than the average candidate possesses, efficiency only comes after hard work in preparation. Yet this hard work should not be grudged, for there are few surer avenues to high promotion than the ability to write a really good letter. In book-keeping the proportion of failures has been rapidly increasing during the past four years, although this cannot be accounted for by any increase in the difficulty of the questions or any greater strictness in marking. In consequence of the unsatisfactory nature of the Examiner's report the Council has decided that in future some of the practical exercises set in the Final Examination shall be marked as obligatory. In Practical Banking the Examiner reports a decided improvement in the standard attained, which is borne out by the considerable increase over recent years in the number of distinctions gained. Congratulations are due to Mr. Goddard on the complete and satisfactory nature of the Court of Appeal's vindication of his good faith in the circumstances described in the case of "Parsons v. Barclay and Another" (v. p. 452). The Master of the Rolls, in the course of his judgment, laid it down clearly that a banker, in answering Opinion in |