The Sun.
London, England, 1860-03-22 00:00:00

BANK -RETURNS.

. -
The Bankers' Magazine furnishes the returns of the cir-
culation of the Private and Joint-Stock Banks in England
and Wales for the four weeks ending Feb. 11. These
returns, combined with the circulation of the Scotch and
Irish Banks for the same period, and the average circula-
tion of the Bank of England for the four weeks ending the
Bth Feb. (the nearest date furnished by their returns)
will give the following results of the circulation of notenotesthe United-Kingdom, when compared with the previo in
us
month u—.

Jan. 1-/---4`el. n,
1860. 1860.

Increase.

Bank of En ,land 21,282,6* 21,735,265 452,646
Private Banks 3,499,722! 3.504,381 465?
Joint-stock Banks 3,6/4,630; 2,977,034 —.
Total in England 27,796,877 '28,216,680 419,803
Scotland 1 4,289,541 4,124,606
Ireland I 7,361,762 7,353,744 _
United Kingdom I 39,448,1801 39,695,030 246.850

Decrease.

37,49

64,934
8,018

246,850

And as compared with the month ending the 12th of Feb.
1859, the above returns show an increase of £1,046,372
in the circulation of notes in England, and an increase of
£1,721,757 in the circulation of the United Kingdom.
On comparing the above with the fixed issues of the seve-
ral banks the following is the state of the circulation :
fhe English private banks are below their fixed
issue
£900,554
The English joint-stock banks are below their
fixed issue £325,323

Total below fixed issue in England.... £1,225,877
The Scotch banks are above their fixed issue .. £1,375,335
The Irish banks are above their fixed issue • /999,250
The average stock of bullion held by the Bank of Eng-
land in both departments during the month ending the Bth
of Feb. was £18,340,853, being a decrease of £1,283,334 as
compared with the previous month, and a decrease of
£3,938,935 when compared with the same period last year.
The following are the amounts of specie held by the Scotch
and Irish banks during the month ending the 11th Feb.:—
Gold and silver held by the Scotch banks, ..... £2,637,228
Gold and silver held by the Irish banks .. . ... ..
.. 2,804,375

,
Being an increase of £90,193 as compared £swith44l, the
e
previous return, and an increase of £490,681 when compared
with the corresponding period of last year,

SOANE AND lIIS MUSEUNI.—Soane, the architect,
born 1753, was the son of a bricklayer, at Beading. Poor
and neglected, he came to London; one of---
" The brave spirits who go up to woo
That terrible city whose neglect ,is death
Whose smile is fame."
He went into Dance's office as an errand .boy, but ho worked
his way ;—built the Bank of England ;—many structures
for the Government which Time's erasing fingers, helped
by Sir John Soane, have sponged out ;—became Sir John
Soane ; and, when he died in 1837, he left behind him, to
say nothing of a fine fortune, a remarkable collection of
books, prints, pictures, and antiquities for the benefit of the
public. Whether this collection, boxed up in the house in
Lincoln's-inn-fields, and approachable by tickets during a
small part of the year, is made as available as it should be,
may be a question with some. It is certainly, however, no
question with me : and I trust a long time will not elapse
before a complete change in the management be made.
Godwin's" Atimorials of Workers."

Value of Vessel
Lives Lost, and cargo.
Dollars.
President
Arctic American .. 300 1,800,000
Pacific ...
/I • • 210 2,000,000
San Francisco
Central America •
Independence „ .. 140 100,000
Yankee Blade
City of Glasgow British .. 420 850,000
' Union American .. none 300,000
Humboldt
19 • • // 1,600,000
Franklin
•• • • 9/ 1,900,000
City of Philadelphia British .. , 600,000
Teipest
/9 • • I'so 300,000
Lyonnais
Austria
Canadian
Argo
Indian 27 125,000
• • •
Northerner .. American .. 32 76,000
Hungarian British (about) 120 270,000

Total
Showing that a fleet of 20 fine steamers, many of
them first•class, have been totally lost within the
period named. The President, Pacific, City of
Glasgow, and Tempest were never heard of; the
Arctic, San Francisco, and Central America foun-
dered; the Independence, Yankee Blade, and Nor-
therner were wrecked on the Pacific, and the Cana-
dian, Humboldt, Franklin, Argo, and Hungarian
on the Atlantic coast; the Lyonnais was sunk by
collision, and the Austria was burnt. Not enume-
rated in this list are two-thirds as many more,
generally of a class much inferior, which were lost
in the California trade. The casual reader may
derive a more distinct impression in regard to the
appalling loss of life here recorded, but there are
many homes where no fresh recital is needed to re-
call the memory of the loved and lost.—New York
Journal of Commerce.