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of New York on "The Advantage of the Export of Capital by "the Older Countries." The subject is of special interest at the present time. We quote the concluding paragraph in the hope that it will induce many of our members to read the whole of the paper. Thus the export of capital from the older countries " is of great advantage, and the policy which Great Britain has followed, and is still following, of supplying capital freely to any country where that capital can be profitably employed, " is not only one of the principal causes of the great increase in "the welfare and prosperity of Great Britain in the past, but "has also been one of the principal factors in bringing about "the wonderful increase in the prosperity of the whole world "witnessed in the last sixty years." The Statist for January 8th has a further article on the same subject, in which details are given as to the amount of capital lent to the various countries, foreign and colonial. Canada comes first in the list with £37,287,051; the next borrower is Argentina with £22,706,341.

The Scottish Bankers' Magazine for January is again full of interesting articles. Of these, our younger members will read with benefit the article entitled "The Road to Success." The writer gives reasons why some men succeed and others fail to rise in the profession.

The Journal of the Institute of Bankers in South Africa for November contains the prize essay on "The Bearing of the Union "of the South African Colonies on Banking and Currency." The writer is Mr. D. P. Morgan, who considers that the probable effects of the Union on banking are three: (1) The removal of impediments to the expansion of trade; (2) the removal of restrictions on banking; and (3) the improvement of credit and growth of confidence throughout South Africa.

The Secretary for January appears in an altered form. It contains a report of the first of a series of three lectures on Marine Insurance, which is being delivered before the members of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries by Mr. Douglas Owen.

Members who wish to borrow any of the magazines referred to should apply to the Secretary, who will be pleased to inform them when the magazines are available. All periodicals may be borrowed by Members except the current numbers.

RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY.

Bank Book-keeping: a lecture read before the Sheffield Chartered Accountants' Students' Society, by F. Percy Belcher, an Associate of the Institute of Bankers.

The author states: "In the system of book-keeping with "which I have illustrated my lecture I have tried to observe,

as far as possible, the axiom that an original entry is "better than a transferred one" (p. 34).

Banking Economics: or the part played by Banks in the production of wealth. A paper read before the Glasgow Bankers' Debating and Literary Society, by J. M. Milne, an Associate of the Institute of Bankers.

Bank Rate: the Bankers' Vade Mecum. By A. H. Gibson. Third year of publication. (London: Simpkin, Marshall, 1910. Price, 2s. 6d. net.)

Tariff Reform from a National Standpoint. By A. H. Gibson. (London: Simpkin, Marshall, 1910. Price, 1s.)

Mathieson's Handbook for Investors for 1910. (London: Mathieson's, 1910. Price, 2s. 6d. net.)

Banking, Railway and Shipping Statistics, Ireland, for the halfyear ending June 30th, 1909. (Dublin: Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland.)

Statistical Abstract for the British Colonies, Possessions and Protectorates in each year, 1894-1908. (Board of Trade, 1909. Price, 2s.)

New South Wales Statistical Register for 1907 and previous years. (Government of New South Wales, 1909. Price, 5s.) Proposed Budget of the Russian Empire for 1910, with explanatory Memorandum of the Minister of Finance. (St. Petersburg, 1909.)

Directory of the Royal Society of Arts. (London: Bell, 1909.) The Ideal Code Condenser. By Alfred Kolkenbeck. (London: Central Translations Institute, n.d. Price, £1 1s.)

THE "MABERLY PHILLIPS" COLLECTION OF OLD BANK NOTES AND DRAFTS.

SINCE the publication of the Journal for December the following additions to the collection have been acquired, and the thanks of the Council are tendered to the donors:

Presented by H. L. Sowdon, Esq., of the Metropolitan Bank (of England and Wales), Ltd., Warwick:

Note of the Warwick and Warwickshire Bank, Kelynge,
Greenway & Greaves, for £5, unissued.

Note of the Warwick and Warwickshire Bank, Kelynge,
Greenway & Greaves, for £10, unissued.

Note of the Warwick and Warwickshire Bank, Greenway,
Smith & Greenways, Leamington, for £5, dated 1st
January, 1887.

Note of the Warwick and Warwickshire Bank, Greenway,
Smith & Greenways, Warwick, for £10, dated 4th
November, 1886.

Note of the Warwick and Warwickshire Bank, Greenway,
Smith & Greenways, for £50, dated 1st July, 1869.

Banker's Licence of the Warwick and Warwickshire Bank,
Whitehead, Weston & Greenway, dated 11th October,
1818.

Banker's Licence of the Warwick and Warwickshire Bank, Whitehead, Weston & Greenway, dated 11th October, 1809.

Presented by G. W. Nicholls, Esq., of the Capital and Counties Bank, Ltd., Birmingham: —

Blank Cheque of Messrs. Rufford, Biggs & Ruffords, Bromsgrove, unstamped.

Presented by Arthur R. Fysh, Esq., of the London City and Midland Bank, Ltd., 5, Threadneedle Street, E.C.: —

Cheque of Richard Bruce on Messrs. Down, Thornton, Free and Cornwall, Bartholomew Lane, E.C., for £295, dated 11th August, 1795.

Presented by A. T. Betteridge, Esq., of the London County and Westminster Bank, Ltd., Erith:—

Two Blank Cheques on the London and Westminster Bank,
Eastern Branch, stamp dated 1869.

THE PRICE OF COMMODITIES IN 1909.

THE following table shows the monthly fluctuations in the index number prepared and published by the Economist (Vol. 70, p. 61), for the year which has just elapsed :

The table shows a steady rise somewhat accelerated during the closing months of the year, an acceleration partly due to the abnormal increase in the price of raw cotton.

The figures at the end of December in some recent years are as follows:

The following is Dr. Sauerbeck's annual letter:

3, Moorgate Street Buildings, E.C.

January 11th, 1910.

Sir,-The following are the average index numbers of the prices of 45 commodities, the average of the 11 years 1867-77 being 100 :

The index number is 1 point higher than in the preceding year, and is 26 per cent. below the standard period, which was equivalent to the average of the 25 years 1853-77, but it is 12 per cent. above the average of the lowest decade, 1890-99.

The monthly fluctuations were thus :

The monthly index number rose till May, but was slightly easier in the summer months, being principally influenced by articles of food. It showed again a steady advance after September, making it at the end 5 per cent. higher than a year ago.

Taking articles of food and materials separately, the index numbers compare thus (1867-77=100) in both cases :

Food 84

1878-87. 1889-1898, 1899-1908. 1895. 1896.
Average. Average. Average. Feb.
69
68 63-8

Materials 76

1909. 1909.

Nov. Dec. 72.7 72.0

74.0

77-5 79-4

1900. 1907. 1908. July. July. May. Dec. 60.0 71-2 73-5 70-1 75 57-0 58.6 79-8 88-9 Articles of food are nearly 3 per cent., materials 7 per cent. higher than a year ago, the latter largely influenced by the movements of cotton.

64

The position of the six separate groups of commodities at the end of the last two years and in comparison with former periods is illustrated by the following index numbers (1867–77 = 100 in each case) :