Sunbury American and Shamokin journal. [volume] (Sunbury, Northumberland Co., Pa.) 1840-1848, 1843-09-02
The Bank OF Engiaud--in Interesting
GEefch.

The Bank OF Ensiard--an Interesting
sketch,
awe availed ourselves this morning If the ro,.
mission obtained by Mr. Wiegr, to visi, the Bank
Of England. An officer (Maccr or l'sher) with Ia
os dress coat ard three>cornrre1 hat. escorted us
eisurely Though an institution that is potent IL
controlling and regulating the money pussions Of
Europe. II is situated in Thread.needle s'te"t
but fronts upon half dozen Others, and occnrrs
sn irrepnar area of eight acres. There are no win.
dows through the exterior Of the building. light
being supplied by sky-lights and open courts with
in. There is clock, by which bank time is X pt
with dials indicating .he time in sixteen diff rent
ufiices. The hank with its various Offices are open
,ns cfIice, book bindery, engraving office, &c.
Checks blank books DC are all printed within the
bank, as are the bank notes. In The room where
the circulating notes are rtiuted there are cish'
presses, all constantly employed, and which throw
of about 5000 Impressions daily.
We saw two presses rolling Of five pound notes,
and others upon the various denominations up to
GlOOO, which is the largest note the hank issues.
The dates and numb r. OF the notes is supplied by
smaller presses in anohe room. The paper is lc-
hvercd to the presses counted, <an hundred sher,s
at q time and when wok,1 onl returned another
lundted sheets are given. riessmen work five
aours and earn from two to three guineas a week
In the office where redeemed notes examined,
cancelled, &c. l96 clerks constantly employed.
When we entered this room cur attendant
ILL &. I,., a..
INT on Icing Informed il was 'the Governors or
der" we were allowed to pass. Forty thousand
different notes frequently sen, to this office, to
oe cancelled. in day.
The bank, you know, never reissues a note
When returned to the counter for payment, a note
10 cancelled, filed away, to he burnt a, the e1pira-
ton of ten years. The armory of The bank con-
tans hundred stand of rnuskc's with pistols, cut
lasses, hand grenades, &c, and has a nigh, guard
as strong In the Office where the bank notes are
counted into parcels, tied with twine and placed in
yigeon.boles found five staid, m methodcnl, mat
ter of,iac, looking clerks, whom you would trust
for their faces One Of these old chaps, with the
precision Of "Olp OWEN" and the good nature Of
II III i.uihcH"utcI, 'ooh uIs keys anu uiIlpChcu
the repositories Of paper wealth. The "rass' o
each Denomination were in separate parcels. Wher
we came to the high number he placed four pack
sgs in my hand and rcmsrked, "you no,c hoh
t4,000,000 sterling in your hand, sr."-Ycs,
was actually in possession Of TWENTY MILLIONS OF
DoIIARs-a sum much larger than the whole es
tate of John Jacob Astor Bu, it all returned I,
it's pigeon.hole, and left me far happier man thar
those who are encountered with overgrown for
tunes.
Another of the clerks opened the gold dormito
rice, where rrpose an endless number of bags eaci
containing eight hundred soveregns We wer
next and finally conducted TO a subterranean region
enriched by gold and silver bullion. Here bars q
The precious metals were as pl-ntifully hcaped a
those Of iron end steel are in The stores Of our friend
Benedict, Townsend and Corning. The silyc
Nc did not NEEDLE with, hut we handled bars o
God, each weighing eight thousand pounds stcr
thousand pounds sterling each. Much of this hui
ton was recently received from China, as an IA
1aiWeRt upon the sum John Bull mikes the &c
ysais pay for their obstinate refusal To rake opi
um."-The Bark of England has now, in papo
and specie, nearly Thirty eight millions Of pound
sterling. There arc eight bundled persons, in 1t
various departments, constantly employed With
me walls.