Jeffersonian Republican. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1840-1853, 1843-09-07

We avaied ourselves this morning of The
permission obtained by Mr. Wiggin. 10 visit the
Bank OF England. An official (Macer or Ush-
er) with laced dress coat and three -cornered
hat, escorted US leisurely through an institution
that is SO potent in controlling and regulating
the money pulsaiions OF Europe. Ii is situated
on Thread-needle street, hui fronts upon half
dozen others, and occupies an irregular area
of eight acres. There are no windows through
the exterior Of the building, light being sup
piled by sky-hghis and open courts within.
There is clock, by which bank time is kept,
with dials indicating the time in sixteen differ
ent Offices. The bank with its various offices,
are open from A. NJ. till P. NJ. The bank
has lis printing office, book bindery. engraving
office, &c. Checks, blank books &C., are all
printed within The bank, as are the bank notes
In The room where the circulating notes are
printed, there are eight presses, all constantly
employed, and which throw of about 5000 i'm
presslons daily.
We saw two presses rolling off FIVE pound
notes, and others upon the various den0mina-
tions up to a 1000 l.. which is the largest note
the bank issues.---The dates and numbers of
the notes are supplied by smaller presses in
another room. The paper is delivered 10 the
presses counted, ian hundred sheets al time,) }
and when worked and returned, another hun
dred sheets are given. Pressmen work five
hours, and earn from two TO three guineas a
week. In the office where redeemed notes
are examined, cancelled, &C., 1876 clerks are
constantly employed d---When We entered this
room, our attendant was sharply reprmahded
TOR bringing strangers there, bui OH being in
formed that it was The Governors order" we
were allowed to pass. Forty thousand differ
ent notes are frequently sen; TO this office, TO
be cancelled, in day.
The bank, you know, never reissues note
When returned 10 the counter for payment,
note is cancelled, filed away, to be burnt at the
expiration Of ten years. The armory of the
Bank consists of hundred stand of muske,s,
with pistols, cutlasses, hand grenades, &c.,
and has nigh, guard 3s strong. In the Office
where the bank notes are counted into parcels,
tied with twine and placed in pigeon holes, we
found FIVE staid, meihodica. mater-of-fa fact look
ing clerks, whom you would trust for their
faces.-One of these old chaps. with the pre-
cison of OLD OWEN" and the good nature
of Tim Underwater" took his keys and un-
locked the repositories of wealth. The "rags"
of each denomination were in separate par
GELS. When we came TO the high number" {"
he placed four packages in my hand, and re-
marked, "you now hold f4,0O0,0OO sterling in
your hand, SIR" Yes, was actually in pos
session of TWENTY MILLIONS OF DoLLARs--.a
sum much larger than the whole estate of John
Jacob Astor But it all returned 10 its pigeon
hole, and left me far happier man than those
who are encountered with overgrown fortunes
Another of The old clerks opened the gold
dormitorles, where repose an endless number
Of bags, each containing eigh. hundred soyer-
eigns We were next and finally conveyed TO
subterrarean region, enriched by gold and
silver bullion. Here bars Of the precious met
ais were as plentifully heaped as those Of iron
and steel are in the stores of our friends Bene-
dict, Townsend and Corning The silver we
did not meddle with, bat we handled bars Of
gold, each weighing eight Thousand pounds
sterling, that were piled in barrow loads Of
seventy thousand pounds sterling each. Much
of this bullion was recently received from
China, as an nStdlment upon the sum John
Bull makes the Celestals pay for their obs,i-
nate refusal to "take opium" The Bank oI
England has now, in paper and specie, nearly
thirty-eight millions OF pounds sterling. There
are eight hundred persons, in its varions de-
partments, constantly employed within its walls
=. Weeds Letters