The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1857-03-25
THE DAILY DISPATCH.



A PEEP INTo THE BANK OF EHoLAND.-The
Bank of England must be seen on the isside a.
well - out, aud 70 get into the interior OF tns re-
variable building to observe the operations Of an
insitutton taAt exerts more moral and polite pow
AZ than ANY sover. i'm of Europe YOU must have An
order from the governor Of the bank Inc build
ing occupies Al irregular area OF eient acres OF
srouud-aa edihee of 40 architectural beauty, with
mot one window toward tns ss suee., oeins hsnted
was led on presenting my card OF admission,
fnto n pri vste room, where after q delay OF few
moments, . messenger came and conducted me
through the mighty and mysterious building -
Down We went toto room where the notes of the
hank received the day before were now examined
compared with the entries Ia the books and stored
away, The Bank Of England never issues the
same note second Tins IL receives, In the ord
nary course Of busine s. about $500 0O0 or o. co.,
600 daily, Ia notes these put up into parcels
according TO their denomination boxed up with the
date of their reception and are kept ten years at
the expiration OF which period they are taken out
aud grouod up In the mil, which saw runpiog
aad made again into paper. II 10 the course Of
y ears any dispute Ia business or law suit should
arise c~ncerning the payment Of any note the bank
can produce the identical bill
To meet the demand for notes so constantly
used up, the bank has its own paper makers, It's
own printers its own engravers, all at " ork un
der tse same root, and il even makes the machine
~ BY which most of its own work Is done. A com
ptcated but beautiful operation 10 register, ex-
seuaiu8 iEon tuc pEiutos olHCe " ino 1~aAAAo
offise, which marks every sheet of paper that is
struck off from the press 50 that the printers can.
not manufacture . sisgis sheet Of blank notes
taat is not recorded In the bank.
On the same principle of exsctuess, shaft Is
made to pass from one az artment to another. con
meeting q clock ia sixteen business wings of the
estaolishment and regulating them with such
precision that the whole of them are always point
ing TO the same second of time In another room
wAs q machine, exceedingly simple, for detecting
light gold coins. A row of them dropped one by
one upon . spring scale If the piece of gold was
the standard weight, the scale rose to q certain
height, aod the colo slid off upon the side of the
box; If less than the standard it rose little high
er and tho coin slid of upon the other side. asked
the weigher what was the average number of
light coins that came into bis hands, and strangely
enough, be said it was question he was not al
owed TO answer.
The room entered was that in which the
notes are deposited which are ready for issue
we have thirty-two miliops of pounds sterling
In this room, the officer remarked me, will you
take little Of ili' / told him it would be vastly
agreeable, and he handed me a million Give mil
lion of dollars) which received with many thanks
for his lioeralty, but he insisted my depositing
1t with him again, as it would be hardly safe to
carry SO much money in the street. very much
fear that shall never the money again In
the vault beneath the door was q director al d the
cashier counting the bags of gold, which men
were pitching down to them, each bag containing
athousand pounds sterling, just from the mint
This world Of money seemed to realise the fables
OF Eastern wealth, ami gave me new aud strong
Impressions OF the magnitude of the business done
here, and the extent OF the relations of this one i'll
stituton to the commerce of the world