Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1861-04-05
A PEEP INTO THE BANK OF ENG
LAND

/ The Bank Of England must be seen on the
inside as well as out, and to 60 into the in
terror Of this remarkable building, to observe
the operations that exerts more moral and po-
ltlcal power than any sovereign in Europe,
you must have order from the Governor of
the Bank. The building occupies an irregu-
lar area of eight acres of ground--an edihce
of no architectural beauty, with not one win
dow towards the street, being lighted alto
gether from the roof Of the enclosed area.
/ was led, on presenting my card of admis-
sion, into private room, where, after a delay
OF few moments, messenger came and con-
ducted me through the mighty and mysterious
buildings. Down we went into a room, where
the notes of the bank, received the day before,
were now examined, compared with the en-
| tries in the books, and stored away. The
bank of England never issues the same note
second time. 1t receives, in the ordinary
course of fbusiness, about fS00, 600, or 81 ,000-
900 daily in notes these are put up into
parcels according to their denominations, box
cd 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 saw running-and made again into
paper. II, in the course of these ten years,
any dispute in business, or lawsuit should
arise. concerning the payment of any notes
the bank can produce the identical bill.
To meet the demand for notes so constantly
used up, the bank has its own paper makers,
its own printers, its own engravers, all at
work under the same roof, and it even makes
the machinery by which the most Of its work
is done. A complicated but beautiful opera
ton is a register, extending from the printing
office to the banking Offices, which marks
,f 81 = IL
the press, so that the printers cannot manu-
lacture a single sheet Of bank notes that is
not recorded in the bank, On the same prin-
cple of neatness a shaft is made to pass from
one apartment to another, connecting a clock
in sixteen business wings OF the establish
ment, and regulating thom with such precis-
ion that the whole Of them are always point
ing 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 one upon 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 one side OF the box; if less than
the standard, it rose little higher, and the
coin slid off upon the other side asked the
weigher what was the average number OF light
coins that came into his hands, and, strangely
enough, he said IT was question he was not
allowed to answer.
The next room | entered was that in which
notes are deposited which are ready for ISSUE
I'VE have thirty-two millions of pounds sier-
ling in this room" the officer remarked to me;
will you take a little Of it r. told him 1t
would be vastly agreeable, and he handed me
million sterling, which received with many
thanks for his liberaity, but he insisted on
my depositing it with him again, as 1t would
hardly be safe to carry so much money into
the street. | very much fear that ! shall
never see that money again. In tho vault be-
meath the door were director and cashier,
counting bags Of gold which men were pitch
ing down to them, each bag containing
thousand pounds sterling just from the mint.
This world of money seemed to realize the
fables Of eastern wealth, and gave me new and
strong impressions of the magnitude of the
business done here, aud the extent OF the re-
latons of this one institution to the commerce
Of the world.