The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1861-08-14
A Peep Into the Bank Of England.

Peep lhiO Inc sank OF England.
The Bank of England must be seen on
the inside as well as out, and to 90 into the .
interior of this remarkable building 20 OBJ
serve the operations of an institution that
exers more moral aud political power than
any sovereign in Europe, you must have an
order from the Governor of the Bank. The
building occupies an Irregular area of eight
acres Of ground-an edifice of 70 agrcultu-
raj beauty, with not one window towards
the street, being Lighted altogether from The
room of the enclosed area.
was led, on presenting my card of ad-
mission, into private room, where, after
delay OF few moments, messenger came
and conducted me through the m ighly and
mysterious building. Down we went into
a room where the notes of the bank receiv-
ed the day before, were now examined,
com pared with the entries in the book and
stored away.
The Bank o. England never issues the
same note a second time. 1t receives in
the ordinary course of business, about f80O
| 900 or 81 900 900 daily in notes; these are
put up into parcals according 10 their de-
I nominations, and are kept ten years; at
the expiration Of each period they are ia
! ken out aud ground up in The mill which
: saw running, made again into paper. II,
! in the course of these ten years. any dispute
/ in business, or law suit, should arise, con-
cerning the payment of any note, The bank
can produce the Identical bill
To meet the demand for notes so con-
s,anty used up, The bank has its own pa
per makers, lis own pruters. is own engra-
vers, all at work under the same roof, and
it even makes the machinery by which the
most OF lis own work is done. A compII-
Gated but beautiful operation is a register.
extending from the printing Office to the
banking offices, which makes every sheet
ol paper that is struck of from The press, so
that the printers cannot manufacture a single
sheet OF bank notes that is not recorded in
the bank. On the same principle of neat
ness,a shah is made 10 pass from one apart
ment 10 another, connecting clock in six-
Teen 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 machine, exceedingly sim pie
for detecting light gold coin. A row OF then
are dropped one 10y one upon spring scale
II the piece of gold was OF the STANDARD
weight, the scale rose to a certain heigh
= and the coin slid off upon one side of tht
box if less than the standard it rose a little
higher, and the coin slides off upon the 9th
er side | asked the weigher what was tn,
average number of light coins that came in
to his hands, and strangely enough he sal,
it was question he was not allowed to an
swer.
To The next room | entered was that il
which notes are deposited which are read,
for issue. ave have thirty-two millions o
? pounds sterling in this room," the Office
i remarked TO me; "wil you take a Little c
E it!V told him it would, be vastly agreea
ble and he handed me million sterling
which received with many thanks for hi
5 liberalty, but he insisted upon my depos
= irns i with him as It would hardly be sai
= to carry so much money into the street.
. very much fear that shall never see tina
), money again. In the vault beneath tn
h door, were a director and cashier countin
y bags OF gold which men were piichn
: down to them, each bag containing a thou
sand pound sterling, just from the mint
d This world of money seemed 10 realize IN
: fables of eastern wealth, and gave me nsy
and strong impressions of the magnitude c
the business done here, and the extent {
the relations OF this one Institution 10 III
+ commerce Of the world.