§ [SECOND READING.]
§ Order of the Day for the Second Reading read.
§ THE EARL OF GRANARDMy Lords, this Bill is very simple in character, and 998 its object is to amend Section 11 of the Savings Bank Act, 1904. The provision in that section has resulted in a considerable saving to the Exchequer through not having to transmit acknowledgments of deposits below the amount stated, and the object of this Bill is to enable the amount to be increased. The Bill provides that in the case of deposits not exceeding £1, or such higher maximum amount as may from time to time be fixed by regulations made by the Postmaster General with the consent of the Treasury under the Post Office Savings Bank Acts, 1861 to 1904, the entry in the depositor's book shall be conclusive evidence of the depositor's claim to the repayment of the deposit, with the interest thereon, upon demand made by him on the Postmaster-General, and it shall not be necessary in such case to transmit any acknowledgment of the deposit by the Postmaster-General.
§ Moved, "That the Bill be now read 2a."—(The Earl of Granard.)
§ On Question, Bill read 2a, and committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Monday next.