Samuel Smiles：Thrift, Excerpt 310

Now, fifteen years ago, this country was very insufficiently provided with savings banks for the people. There were then many large towns and villages altogether unprovided with them. Lancashire had only thirty savings banks for upwards of two millions of people. The East Riding of Yorkshire had only four savings banks. There were fifteen counties in the United Kingdom which had not a single savings bank. There were only about six hundred savings banks for about thirty millions of people. These were open only for two or three hours in the week; some were open for only four hours in the month. The workman who had money to save, had to carry his spare shillings in his pocket for some time before he could lay them by; and in the meantime he might be exposed to constant temptations to spend them. To keep his shillings safe, he must have acquired the _habit_ of saving, which it was the object of savings banks to train and establish.

Source： https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14418
Locator：Excerpt 310 · Verified：2026-10-19 · Verification：Short excerpt

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