The Sun.
London, England, 1862-09-18 00:00:00

BANK OF ENGLAND.

HALF-YEARLY MEETING.—THIS DAY.
A general court of directors of the Bank of England was
held this morning in the Bank Parlour, Threadneedle-
Street; it was also one of the quavery courts hold pursuant
to the charter—Alfred Lathom, Esq,, Governor, presided.
The minutes of the last court having been read and con-
firmed,

The GOVERNOR said he had to acquaint the court that
the net profits of the half-year ending the 31st August
were £6U4,041, making the amount of rest on that day
£3,619,372. After providing for a dividend at the rate of
£4 ss. for the half year, the rest would amount to £3,000,872.
The directors, therefore, proposed that A dividend on inte-
rest and profits on the 10th of October be paid of £4 ss. per
cent., without deduction on account of income tax. The
Governor concluded by proposing the usual resolution to
that effect.

Alderman SALOMONS said, before the motion was put to
the meeting, he wished to ask a question of great public
interest, and to which he wished the Governor to give an
authoritative reply, He need not say that the public mind
had been greatly agitated by the report of a robbery of
bank-note paper that had taken place, on, which forged notes
had been printed. He wished the Governor to give some
official information as to the amount of paper stolen, and
also as to what steps had been taken to discover the
parties implicated in the affair.

The GOVERNOR said he did not think it would be ex-
pected that he should go largely into the question, since
the ends of justice might be defeated if he were to enter into
minute particulars. He might, however, inform the Court
that the statements he had seen in the newspapers were very
much exaggerated. The directors could tell pretty well
what amount of notes were out, and he need not inform them
that the return of those notes was enormously rapid. 0 e
half of the notes out at the date of 'the robbery had been
returned in the bank, so that the reports in circulation
were very much exaggerated.

Mr. CLARK reminded the Governor that he had not
stated the probable amount of paper that had been stolen.
The GOVERNOR said it was very small indeed. In the
returns of notes by one of the largest banking firms in the
city not a singe forged note had been found against them.
Mr. Alderman SALOMONS said he gathered from the
observations of the Governor that the answer to his ques-
tion was that the amount was inconsiderable.
The GOVERNOR said that was the case.
A PROPRIETOR—Or likely to be ?
The GOVERNOR—Yes.
The motion for the declaration of the dividend was then
put, and carried unanimously.
The SECRETARY then announced that the dividend war-
rants would be delivered and paid on the 11th of October
next.

The GOVERNOR said that concluded the business of the
day.

Mr. M. CLARK said he felt great pleasure in moving the
usual resolution, viz. :--That the thanks of the proprietors
be given to the Governor, Deputy-Governor, and Court of
Directors for the efficient manner in which they had per-
formed their duty.

Mr. BURNIESTER said he had great pleabure in seconding
the motion.

The resolution was carried unanimously.
The GOVERNOR having acknowledged the compliment,
the proceedings terminated.

THE POST-OFFIC.E.

The number of chargeable letters delivered from the
British offices in the last complete year before the reduction
of postage was taken at seventy-six millions. The number
in 1861 had risen to the stupendous amount of five hundred
and ninety-three millions, being nearly an eightfold multi •
plication of the former number. The imagination refuses
to grapple with figures so enormous ; probably, therefore,
the vast increase will be more clearly apprehended if I give
the following short table, which gives the proportion of
letters to population at the two extremes. In 1889 the
proportion stood thus :—ln England and Wales, four letters
per annum to each individual; in Ireland, one; in Scot-
land, three, being an average of three to each person in the
United Kingdom. In 1861 the average had grown in Eng-
land and Wales to twenty-four per head ; in Ireland, to
nine ; in Scotland, to nineteen ; being an average of twenty
per bead for the United Kingdom, It will be felt that a
rise from three per head to twenty leads to inferences
bearing on the social state of the nation which would of
themselves furnish matter for a whole paper. The enor-
mous increase of correspondence may be placed in still
another light. The total weight of letters, exclusive of
newspapers find other matter, during the year 1849, was
seven hundred and fifty eight tons. In 1861 it had risen
to four thousand three hundred tons, The increase of the
average daily mileage of the mails, whether carried by rail-
way coaches, horses, or on foot, is very striking. It is esti-
mated, although, in the absence cf records no very close
approximation to the truth can be reached, that in 1839 it
did not exceed fifty-four thousand miles per diem, whereas
in 1861 it had risen to one hundred and fifty-one thousand,
being six times the circumference of the globe; so that,
although the Post-office still falls short of the activity of
Puck, who could " put a girdle round the earth in forty
minutes," yet it performs a similar feat to his every four
hours of its existence. This increase would have been much
larger but for the circumstance that each trunk railway,
like theGreatNoorfthm-Wailsestwerhnich trforoinrustarniyeel,edftraLwosntdoonitsbelyf
an aggregation
several distinct routes. The staff of officers of all ranks and
both sexes constantly employed in the labours of the Post-
office was in 1839, by rough estimate, about 800. In 1861
it was, by exact enumeration, 25,473. In addition to this
force, many assistants are engaged a portion of their time.
Let me now compare the gross and the net revenue of the
department as it existed in 1838 and in 1861. The gross
revenue in 1838 was X 2,346,278; in 1861, upwards of three
millions and a half. Hence it appears that notwithstand-
ing the wonderful reduction whereby the pubic now ob-
tains far more of the article post ige for the same price
Orin it did formerly, yet that its expenditure in postage ex-
ceeds by more than one-half the amount so spent under the
old exorbitant rates. Nor is the promise for the future less
brilliant than the experience of the past. Correspondence
is still advancing by rapid strides. One incident in this
vast accession cannot but give rise to sanguine expectations.
Whatever the vicissitudes in our harvests, whatever the
fluctuations of our commerce, whether we are in the en-
joyment of peace or suffer the privations of war, each re-
volving year adds to the mass of our correspondence. The
tide of our letters, like that from the Pontic to the Pro-
politic Sea, feels au ebb. Eighteen hundred and sixty-one,
though by no means a year of general affluence, added a
influx of twenty-nine millions—in addition even beyond
the Imps of Nailer years.—Frasce,y itrognine.