The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-12-02 00:00:00

THE GOLD MANIA IN CALIFORNIA.

Probably the one thing which moat attracts the eye
of the traveller in California (remarks the correspon-
dent of the New York Times at San Francisco), is the
gold currency. " rhe mining e'ement is so com-
pletely the controlling power in San Francisco that
their passienate love of gold as an object, as some-
thing tangible, has beeome the principle of banking
here. One would have thought that it would have
been suffiuient for all the needs of a gold currency to
use gold as a circulating medium, and transact busi-
ness by means of bank notes or cheques. But this is
not the practice, for, though gold notes do exist, they
heve been emitted for the convenience of Eastern
tomiste, who do not care to carry half a hundred
weight of gold concealed about their persons.
The Californians, however, will not accept a flim7
fold of paper, although it is actually worth its
face, and is a promise to nay which will neither be
postponed nor violated. What they want is the solid,
shining gold in twenty-dollar pieces, for the fifty-
dollar slug, so beloved by the miners ill former years,
appears to have yielded before the march of a degene-
rate civilisation. The effete and effeminate pockets of
modern days cannot support the ponderous angles of
the gold sing, which has accordingly passed into
history. Toe banking element here smiles at the
anomalies whieh result from this fondness for the 'real
article.' Almost all the bankers have received their
training in the East, and it seems ludicrous to them
beyond measure to be csmeelted to go to the Clearing-
houie with a horse and waggon to bring away tee
balance due to the firm. I had the pleasure through thf
kindness of ex- Governor Lowe, Ptesideut of the Anglo-
Californian Bank, of seeing some of the golden
machinery of the Californian land. He showel me a.
vault in which was a ponderous and extremely large
safe on each hide. He opened the quadruple door of
steel and displayed a quantify of huge bags lying at
the bottom or the vault. Each conteined 20,000 doh.
in double eagles, which is the universal coin of busi-
ness, and each weighed about esveitty pounds
avoirdupois. Governor Lowe said, 'I grant it
seems ridiculous to return to such a primeval way
of doing business, but it has its advantages.
This morning our employe at the clearing-house
had to receive a balance ot 127,000 dole., the weight
of which was about four hundred and sixty-hve
pounds avoirdupois. This was, undoubtedly, awk-
ward to handle, but its weight made it at cure. No one
could very well steal it In the East, bank clerks re-
turning from the clearing-houses of large cities have
frequently been chloroformed and robbed. Here this
would be impossible. Sometimes, however, when the
balances are exceedingly heavy, as happens once in a
while from special transactions, the burden of the gold
Is really hard to bear. But on the whole the security
from robbery overweighs every other consideration.
Lo As around at our counters. You see they have no
Iron radiate, no wire fencieg. The (leucite': is not
nreo.fit high, std a thief coult easily stretch over and.
dip his nand i .t )61e of these tra,;-e, which are tu idd to
hold exactly the contents of one bag. But whit gieicT
4ld it do him? He cotild b.irely snr
eagles.. Now, east whole packets of notes of large
ae.nepina, roue have been grabbid in th's way. And
wt!-.11 regard to burglaries, we do not fear them, I
pointed out to you the quadruple thickness of the safes,
but our best and chief security is in the weight of the
gold. There is more than a 'Didion in double eagles ha
that safe, and even supposing that burglars could jet
through that quadruple wail of steel, they could not
carry away their plunder, exsept in a waggon, which
could only go slowly, and could easily be traced. It
is to be doubted whether ours is not the better way."'
. -
A CHAMBER OF HORRORS.: ' 34843

the ,4

411/'
SitC.l"nve'vvitiote

The followirg Is an extract from the letter of the Corre-
spondent of The l'imee at Naplts :

When at Palermo a few days ago my travelling
companions and I visited a monastery of Carlhasisu
friars in' the neighbourhood of that city. There we
beneld the ghastly eight of 8,000 (-laud mummiec of de-
ceased persons, either arranged round the vaults in 4,4,.
erect position clothed in the coistuunts they 'wore in
life, or pine-din boxes or cuffing, where they lie" in A
srt of semi-State, attired either in grave clothes Or
ordinary d, es. A payment of 35 franca secures-imy
one the former privilege, though 70 are reAdired
f, r wh,t, perhaps, may be calied first.class accom-
modation. -Mien a dead body arrives for treatmPut
at the monastery, it is entirely divested of cl6thitig,
and is placed, with others undergoing a Edmilar
proces.g, for a year in a closed vault. Whatever, at
the expiration of that period, remains unconsumed
by the drying action of the atmosphere, together
'with the volunteer assistance tf multitSPlN rel,
1 • •

;51Atolo'N