Gazette and sentinel., 1860-12-22
A Peep into the Bank of England.

The Bank of England must be seen
on the inside as we'll as out, and to go
into the interior of this remarkable
building, to observe the operations OF
an institution that eXerts more moral
and political power than any sovereign
in Europe, you must have al order from
the Governor of the Bank. The build
ing occupies an irregular area of eight
acres of ground-an edilice of no archi-
tectural beauty, with not one window
towards the street, being lighted alto
gether from the roof of tie enclosed
area.
| was led, on presenting my card OF
admission, into a private room, where,
after a delay of a few moments, a mes
scnger came and conducted me through
the mighty and mysterious building.
Down We went into a room where the
notes of the bank, received the day be-
fore were now examined, compared
with the entries in the book, and slowed
away. The Bank of England never is
sues the same note the second time. 1t
receives in the ordinary course of bust
ness about $500, 900, or $4,000, 600,
daily in notes; these are put up into 4
parcels according to their denomll a.
tons, boxed up with the date of theit
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. If, in the course of these
ten years, any dispute in business, or
law suit should arise concerning the
payment of any note, the bank can pro-
duce the identical bill.
To meet the demand for notes so con-
stantly used up, the bank has It's OWL
paper-makers, its own printers, its own
c~ngravers, all the work under the same
roof, and it even makes the machinery
by which the most of its own work Is
done. A complicated but beautiful
operation is a register, extending from
the printing office to the banking offices,
which marks every sheet Of paper that
is struck of from the press, so that the
printers cannot manufacture a single
sheet of blank notes that is not record
cd in the bank.
On the same principle of n~catnesS,
a shaft is made to pass from one apart
ment to another, connecting a clock III
sixteen business wings of the establish
ment, and regulating them with such
precision that the whole of them are al
ways pointing to the same second OF
time. In another room was a machine,
exceedingly simple, for detecting light
gold coin. \ row Of them is dropped
one by Il upon a spring scale. If the
piece of gold was of the standard weight,
the scale rose to a certain height, and
the coin slid off upon the side of the
box; if less than the standard, it rose
"a little higher and the coin slid off upon
the other side. | asked the weighcrs
what Vas the average number OF light
coins that came into his hands, and,
strangely enough, he said it was a ques-
ton he was not allowed to answer,
The next room | entered was that in
which the notes are deposited which are
ready for issue.
I'VE have thirty-two millions of
pounds %stcIliny in this room" the officer
ltLldlhtu ~ III VIII yOu IahO iietiO
of it /" told him it would be vastly
agreeable, and he handed me a million
sterling, (S5, 000, O00) which | received
with many thanks for his ~liberality, but
he insisted on my depositing it with
him again, as it would hardly be safe
to carry so much money into the street.
| very much fear that | shall never see
that money again. In the vault beneath
the door was a director and the cashier,
counting the bags of gold which men
were pitching down to them, each bag
containing a thousand pounds sterling,
st from tie mint. This world of mon
ely seemed to realize the fable Of eastern
wealth, and gave me new and strong
impress ions of the magnitude of the
business done here, and the extent of
the relations of this one institution to
the of the world. u
-. ..".".L