The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1874-11-21
Heavy Bill Transactions

Probably the heaviest ball transactions (ssys the
Daily -Nsrs Of London) that the world ever saw are
now strainiDg the resources Of the ancient and re-
spectacle Bank Of Hamburg. They are heavy in
every sense Of the word; for not only are they Of vast
amount, bat they are required TO be paid in silver,
st the rate Of about a Waggou-losd 70 q bin; and il
Is not 50 much the difficulty Of procuring the silver,
bat OF coming 1t fast eLosgh, that has taxed the
energies Of the commercial capital of Germany.
Fortunately q crisis, which at one time seemed al
most inevitable, has been averted by the zeal and
cooperation Of the private bankers. as the State
was not permitted to Interfere, and the first IF these
monster bills has been paid. The circumstances
are these A large part OF the latest instalmeni
Of war indemnity aid by France to Germany con-
siSts OF bills Of exchange. aad Of these were drafls
on Hamburg to the tune Of IS million marks baneo
"A coin of aboRt eighteen-pence value. On the
18th Of September the FIRST bill for about rs mil-
lions became due, and consequently nearly two
millions of money had to be provided in eighteen
penny pieces. Such a thing had never been heard
of before; but the bills had been duly accepted.
aud being at short dates, had to be provided for
by the aeceptors. Messrs L. Behrens and Sons,
without loss of time, by some unusual operation.
as all the money in the bank was inadequate for
the purpose. This sum varies from week TO week
according to the quantity Of bullion in the cellars
of the bank, anyone being at liberty to deposit
there his bars of silver; for which his account is
credited in marks baneo at a dxea rate of about
afty-nine marks bancO per medical pound Of fine
silver. In ordinary times, this balance has ranged
from sixteen to twenty millions of marks value,
and in order TO facilitate the everincreasing fnan-
cial operations, a concession has been granted to
the Bank to create banco money, no longer exelu-
sively by silver bars, but by the deposit OF gold in
bars called Belehnungen. Tn this manner the
stock at the bank at the end of August had risen
to thirty-twO millions Of marks value; but OF this
more than Eve millions were Belehnungen, and
consequently not available, for the monster bin
was drawn and made payable, not in gold, nor
even in silver thalers, but 10 marks banco; and
nothing but marks baneo would do. The Ham
burgers proved equal to the emergency. By great
exertion, working night and day, 20, 900. 900 marks
were forthcoming; the day before the bill became
due they were delivered to the bank in Z, 900 bags
of 200 marks each, and on the 18th the bills were
paid in the usual manner by a simple eheque on
the bank to transfer the amount TO the credit Of
the holder! No wonder that with transactions of
such colossal magnitude a great sensation was Gre
ated in the Hamburg Exchange q few days ago by
the exhibition Of one Of those monster bills by the
Provincial Discount Company, to whom it had
been sent to get it accepted. This extraordinary
document was drawn, on Messrs L. Behrens and
Sons, and in one sum of "a, CSC, 900 marks banco,
the bill stamps amounting to more than 600O thaIers
(about e9oO), which goes into the Imperial Treas
uTy, and which France has to pay.