Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1865-12-07
The Eank Of England.

tuC OiJSi atloiir VI Ph ihStitut'ou
that exerts more moral and po.it-
ical 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
edifce of no architectural beauty,
with not one window towards the
street, being lighted altogether
from the roof Of the enclosed
areas.
! was led, on presenting my
card of admission, into private
room, where, aftera delay OF a few
moments, messenger 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 before were now examined,
compared with the entries i'll tie
books, and stored away. The
Bank of England never issues the
same note second time. 1t re-
ceives, IN the ordinary course of
business, about GS00,0O0, or ST.,
600, 900, daily in notes; these are
put up into parcels according to
their denomination, boxed up with
the date of their reception, and
are kept ten years; at the eSpira-
ton OF which period they are ta-
ken out groundupin the mill which
| saw running, and made again in
to paper. If in the course Of
those ten years, any dispute in
business, Or law suit, should arise
concerning 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 papermakers, its own
printers, It's own engravers, all at
svork under the same roof, and it
even makes the machinery by
which the most Of its own work is
done. A complicated, but beauti-
full operation is Il register, extend
ing from the printing office to the
banking offices, which marks eve
ry sheet of paper that is struck
off from the press, so that the
printers cannot manufacture a
single sheet Of blank notes that is
not recorded in the Bank.
On the same principle of exact
ness, a shaft is made to pass from
one apartment TO another, connect
ing a clock III sixteen business
wings of the esta lisllment, and
regulating them with such precis-
ion that the whole of them are al
ways pointing to the same second
of time. In another room was a
machine excee dinghy simple, for
detecting light gold coins. A row
of them dropped one by one upon
a spring scale. If the piece was
Of standard weight, the scale rose
to certain height, and the coin
slid off upon the side of a box; if
less than the standard, it rose a
little higher and the coin slid off
upon the other side. | asked the
weighcr what was the average
number of light coins that came
into his hand, and, strangely
enough, he said it was question
he was not allowed to answer.
The next room | entered was
that in which the notes are deposit
ed which are ready for issue
"We have thirty-two million of
pounds sterling in this room," the
officer remarked to me; twill you
take little of it," | told him
it would be vastly agreeable; and
handed me a million sterling five
million of dollars, and which
received with many thanks for his
liberality, but he insisted on my
depositing it with him again, as il
would be hardly safe to carry SC
much money into the street. In
the vault beneath the door was a
director and the cashiers counting
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 seemed to realize
the fables of Eastern wealth, and
gave me new and strong impress
ions of the magnitude of the bnsi-
ness done here, and the extent of
the relations Of this one institu-
ton to the commerce of the
world.
A clergyman on his way to