The Arkansas banner., 1843-11-18
From Needs Letters from .A6road. THE BANK OF ENGLAND
LONDON, July Is

LONDON, July IS.
 We availed ourselves this morning of the permission obtained by Mr. Wiggin to visit the Bank of England. An official (macer or usher,) with laced dress coat and three cor nered hat, escorted us to another officer of the Bank, who took us leisurely through an institution that is potent in controlling and regulating the money pulsations of Europe. It is situated on Threadneedle street, but fronts upon half dozen of others, and oc- cupies an irregular area of eight acres. There are no windows through the exterior of the building, light being supplied by sky lights and open courts within. There is a clock by which bank time is kept, with dials indi- eating the time i'll sixteen different offices The bank, with it's various offices, are open from 9 A. M. until 5 P M The Bank has its printing office, book bindery, engraving office, Sc. Checks, blank books, &c Sc. are all printed within the bank, as are the bank notes. In the room where the circu- lating notes are printed, there are eight press es, all constantly employed, and which throw off about eight thousand impressions daily. We saw two presses rolling off five pound notes, and others upon the various de- nominations, up to one thousand pounds, which Is the largest note the bank issues- The dates and numbers of the notes are SUD- piled by smaller presses in another room.- The paper is delivered to the presses counted, an hundred sheets at a time, and when worked and returned, another hundred sheets are given. Pressmen work five hours and earn from two to three guineas week. In the office where redeemed notes are exam no1 T six clerks are constantly employed. When we entered this room, our attendant was sharply reprimanded' for bringing strangers there, but upon being informed that it was by the '' Governors order,o we were allowed to pass. Forty thousand different notes are frequently sent to this office to be cancelled in day. The bank, you know, never re- issues note. When returned to its counter for payment, the note is cancelled, filed away, to be burnt at the expiration of ten years.- The arnory of the bank contains an hundred stand of muskets, with pistols, cutlasses, hand-grenades, Sc. Sc, and has a night guard oi thirty-eight strong. In the office where the bank notes are counted into par cells, tied with twine and placed in pigeon holes, we found five staid, methodical, matter of-fact looking clerks, whom you would trust for their faces. One of these old chaps, with the precision of Old Owen,' and the good nature of Tim Linkinwater,' took his keys and unlocked the Repositories of paper wealth. The srags' of each denomination were in separate parcels. When we came to the high number he placed four packages in my hand, and remarked, ssyou now hold four millions of pounds sterling in your hand, sir" Yes, was actually in possession of twenty millions of dollars, g sum much larger that the whole estate of John Ja- cob Astor. But 1t all returned to its pigeon hole, and left me far happier man than those who arc encountered with such over grown fortunes. Another of the old clerks opened the golden dormitories, where re- pose an endless number of bags, each con- taining eight hundred sovereigns. We were next and finally conducted to a subterranean region enriched by gold and silver bullion. Here bars of the precious metals were as pentifully heaped as those of iron and steel are in the stores of our friends, Benedict, Townsend and Corning. The silver we did not meddle with, but we handled bars of gold, each weighing eight thousand pounds sterling. Much of this bullion was recently received from China, as an instalme,a upon the sum John Bull makes the CeIcstials pay for their obstinate refusal to take opium The Bank of England has now, in paper and specle, nearly thrty-eight millions of pounds sterling There are eight hundred persons 1 in its various departments, constantly en- ] ployed within its walls. ,2lbany Journal.