Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1855-11-28
THE BANK OF ENGLAND.

.
the inside as we'll as out, and TO get into
the interior of this remarkable building,
to observe the operations of an institution
that exerts more moral and political pow
er than any sovereign in Europe, you
must have an order from the Governor of
the bank. The building occupies an ir-
regular area of eight acres of ground; an
edifce of no architectural beauty, with
out one window towards the street, being
lighted altogether from the roof or the
inclosed areas. The ordinary business
apartments differ from those of eur banks
only in their extent, thousand clerks
being constantly on duty, and driven
with business at that. But to form any
adequate idea Of what the bank is, we
must penetrate its recesses, its vaults and
offices, where we shall see such opera
lions as are not known in Wall Street
l was led, on presenting my card of ad %
mission, into a private room, where, after
the delay of few moments, a messenger
came and conducted re through the
mighty and mysterious building. Down
we went into room where The notes of
the Bank received yesterday were now
examined, compared with the entries in
the books, and stored away. The Bank
Of England aeVer issues the same note
u secORd time. 1t receives in the ordina-
Ty course of business about f9OO, coo or
$4,000, 900 daily in notes: these are put
up IN parcels according to their denomi.
nation, boxed up with the date of their
reception, and are kept ten years, at the
expiration OF which period they are taken
out and ground up in the mill which
saw running, and made again into paper.
Ii In the course of those ten years, any
dispute in business or law. suits should
arise concerning the payment of any note,
the Bank can produce the identical bill.
To meetthe demand fornotes so constant
ly used up, the Bank has its own paper
makers, its own printers, its own engra-
vers, all at work under the same roof,
and even makes the most of the machi-
merry by which its own work is done. A
complicated but beautiful operation is a
register, extending from the printing Of
fee TO the banking offices, which marks
every sheet of paper that is struck off
from the press, so that the printers can.
not manufacture a single sheet of blank
notes that is not recorded in the Bank
On the same principle of exactness, a
shafts made topass from one apartment
to another, connecting clocks in sixteen
business wings of the establishment, and
regulating them with such precision that
the whole of them are always pointing to
the same second of time.
In another room was a machine, ex-
ceeding simple, for detecting light gold
coins. A row of them dropped one by
one upon spring scale If the piece OF
gold was of the standard weight, the
scale rose to certain height and the coin
slid off upon one side into box; if less
than the standard, it rose little higher
and the coin slid off upon the other side.
| asked the wcigher what was the ave
rage number of light coins that came in
TO his hands, and strangely enough, he
said 1t was question he was not allow
ed to answer
The next room | entered was that in
which the notes are deposited which are
ready for issue. owe have thirty.two
million of pound sterling in this room, "
the officer remarked TO me, " will you
take little of it 2" toll him it would
be vastly agreeable, and he handed me
a million sterling tive million of fdollars, }
which 1 received with many thanks for
his liberality but he insisted upon my
depositing it with him agail. as it would
be hardly safe 70 carry so much money
in.o the streets. very much fear that
| shall never see that money again. In
the vault beneath the floor was a direc.
tor and the Cashier con;ing the bags of
gold which men were pitching down to
them each bag containing thousand
pounds sterling just from the mint This
world Of money :eemed to realize the IA
bles Of Eastern wealth, and gave me new
and strong impressions Of the magnitude
of the business done here. and the extent
Of the relations of this one institution to
the commerce of the world.-Prinse' s
Trdgels.
T7rr r.aSOn vyhy man uaS n,a1,a flor