The Sun.
London, England, 1854-07-03 00:00:00

THE BANKERS' CLEARING HOUSE.

The arrangements just completed, by which the whole
of the Loudon joint stock banks are allowed to partici-
pate in the advantages of the London Bankers' Clearing
House, are of sufficient importance to the country, under

the present monetary system, to induce us to call the
attention of the public to the subject. A. few words of
explanation will make the matter intelligible to the
general reader.

The Clearing House, situated at the bottom of Loin.
bard-street, was opened about 90 years ago, for the pur-
pose of enabling the city bankers to meet and exchange
their bills and cheques, and to settle the difference
of their accounts. A clerk from each clearing bank-
ing house attends at eleven o'clock in the forenoon
and three o'clock in the afternoon for this purpose.
Each clerk has a desk and a drawer, in which are
deposited by the other clerks all drafts and cheques on
the house which he represents. At four o'clock the
accounts are closed, the balance which each banker has
to pay or receive from another is ascertained, and thus
each banker arrives at the general balance which, as the
result of the day's transactions, is against him or in his
favour. This general balance is transferred from one
banker to another till the claim which each has on the
clearing house is liquidated. Till very recently, these
general balances were paid in bank notes. In the appen-
dix to the second report of House of Commons on
banks of issue, a statement is given of the aggregate
amount liquidated at that period through the clearing
house, by which some notion may be farmed
of the magnitude of these transactions. The amount
cleared in 1839 was 954,401,600/. The bank
notes employed in the settlement of this (nor'
mous sum being 66,275,6001., or about 1.14 th of
the whole amount. The extent to which the cur-
rency of the country is economised is evident._ But
very lately another important improvement has been
in-
troduced. Each clearing banker now keeps an account
with the Bank of England, and all payments due on the
clearing accounts are paid by cheques oti the bank ; so
that the use of bank notes in the settlement of the
clearing balances is entirely superseded. The admission
roefntdheers theLondosystem nearly perfect. There are six ofn joint stock Banks to the Clearing Hous*
these large companies, viz., the Union, the London
Joint Stock, the London and Westminster, the London
and County, the Commercial, and the Royal British
Banks. The West-end Banks, it may be observed, have
the advantage of the clearing house system through the
ag avail
em enc of the C
themselity
vesßa. nks, of which advantage some of
th
It is difficult to calculate the exact amount of bank
note circulation which will be saved by the system now
Pa
the clearing balances by cheques on
itnhtarobdauncke)daonfdbyyitnhge admission of the joint stock banks,
but it cannot be estimated at less than a million. The
return of the active circulation of notes up to June 17th
was 19,700,575/, which compared with the circulation
of the last two years, is small in amount. But it may,
we think, be safely assumed that a million of notes is
not withdrawn from active circulation, but merely
transferred by the new clearing system, from the tills of
the London bankers to those of the bank of England.
The Bank will gain, we imagine, considerably by these
changes. They will have large balances lodged in their
hands by the other London banks, and they will save
the expense of the manufacture of a large amount of
notes. The joint stock banks will gain in economised
capital and lessened expenses. The private bankers will
gain least, for if they have to keep fewer notes in their
coffers, they will have to keep larger balances -at the
Bank, and neither will their expenses be materially di-
minished, but the security with which their business will
be transacted much increased.
The public will gain, for the bank note circulating
dium of the country being limited by Peel's Bill, the more
you economise the circulation of the country, the more
you do away with the evils of a restricted currlincl•—
Derbyshire Courier.

ONE OF THE " ODIN'S CREW.—Among those who
fell on the Ist instant, in the attack on Gainla Carleby,
Gulf of Bothnia, wa3 Mr. Henry Athorpe, midshipman
of the Odin, third son of J. C. Athorpe, Esq., Dinning-
ton, Yorkshire, and Leam' near Eyam, Derbyshire, and
grandson of the late M. M. Middleton, Esq., Leam.
The unfortunate youth was in the 16th year of his age,
of a very amiable disposition, never failing to seeure the
good opinion of all who knew him. The untimely death
of the gallant youth has thrown his affectionate parents
into the deepest affliction. He is also touch lawented
by many other friends who regarded him with the
highest esteem. Along with five others, his remains
have found a watery grave.—Derbyshire Courier.
ARRIVALS OF SPECIE.—The arrivals of specie last
week have included 40,0001. from Russia, and have
againamounting to a general total
ofnbolu)eteBnseo7otroeornt.e,lyoflag
which
re,
nearly one-half was in sil-
ver. The exports have been moderate, and are estimated
not to have exceeded 100,0001.
NEW BILL TO REPEAL THE USURY LAWS.—On Satur•
day the Government bill which is to be discussed on the
printed, to repeal the Usury Laws.
swanumber of statutes from the ;7 Henry
Thesee second reading,
containas
to the 13 and 14 Viet.