CASH

This article appears in Volume V05, Page 445 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: CAR-CAU

CASH . (1) (From O. Fr. casse, mod. caisse, a box or chest; cf. " case "), a

term

TERM

which, originally meaning a box in which money is kept, is now commonly applied to ready money or coin. In commercial and banking usage " cash " is sometimes confined to specie; it is also, in opposition to bills, drafts or securities, applied to bank-notes. Hence " to cash " means to convert cheques and other negotiable

instruments

INSTRUMENTS

into coin. In book-keeping, in such expressions as " petty cash," " cash-book," and the like, it has the same significance, and so also in " cash-payment " or ready-money payment as opposed to " credit," however the payment may be made, by coin, notes or

cheque

CHEQUE, or CHECK

.
The " cash on delivery " or " collect on delivery " system, known as C.O.D., is one whereby a tradesman can, through a delivery agency, send goods to a customer, and have the money due to him collected on the delivery of the same, with a guarantee from the

carrier

CARRIER
CARRIER, JEAN BAPTISTE (1956-1794)

that, if no money be collected, the goods shall be returned. The

function

FUNCTION

of such an agency is performed in the United States of America by the express companies (see EXPRESS). In most countries of the continent of Europe the post office acts as such an agent, as in Germany (where the system is known as Post-Nachnahme) and in France (contre remboursement). It is also in use in India, where it is known as " value payable," and was introduced in 1877 in Australia. The advantages of the system are obvious, from the point of view both of the customer, who can, by post or telegram, order and obtain speedy delivery from large towns, and of the tradesman, whose area of trade is indefinitely extended. The system does away with credit or the delay and inconvenience of paying in advance. The success of the large " catalogue " houses in America has been mainly due to the system as operated by the express companies. At various times, notably in 1904, it has been proposed that the General Post Office of the United Kingdom should adopt the system. The consistent opposition of the retail traders in large urban centres other than the large stores, and of the country shopkeeper generally, has been sufficient to secure the refusal of the postmaster-general to the proposed

scheme

SCHEME (Lat. schema, Gr. oxfjya, figure, form, from the root axe, seen in exeiv, to have, hold, to be of such shape, form, &c.)

, but a commencement was made in 1908 for orders not exceeding 20 between the United Kingdom and

Egypt

EGYPT

, Cyprus and Malta, and certain British post offices in Turkey and Tangier.
(2) (From Tamil kasfi, Sinhalese kasi, a small coin, adopted by Portuguese as caixa, a box, and similarly assimilated in English to " cash " above), a name given by English residents in the

East

EAST
EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

to native coins of small value, and particularly to the copper coinage of China, the native name for which is tsien. This, the only coin minted by the government, should

bear

a fixed ratio of 1000 cash to one tael of silver, but in practice there is no such fixed value. It is the universal medium ofexchange throughout China for all retail transactions. The tsien is a round disk of copper alloy, with a square hole punched through the centre for stringing. A "

string

STRING

of cash " amounts to 500 or 1000 cash, strung in divisions of 50 or xoo.

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