The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1875-01-16
The London Check Bnnk system.

The extent to which bank checks are
made to perform the functions of money
in England is u matter of frequent sur
prise to our bankers. n cheek Will CIR
culate and not be represented for final pay
mcnt until it has been covered all over
with names, and been the means OF
liquidating debts to an aggregate OF many
times its value. Thus man draws his
check on Il bank for say ten pounds,
"vnluc received" for perhaps, coal. The
coal dealer, after seeing that the check
and signature are good, in place OF pass
ing it TO his bankers, at the close OF bust
ness, uses il to pay the tailor, who may
drop in with his bill. The latter uses 1t t
pav some other obligation, and 50 tho
check passes from hand to hand, until ~
we have stated, it liquidates very large
amount of Indebtedness. Some times IN
dcei frequently, change is given and re-
ceived to make up the dehcinclcS OF
amonnt, as in ordinary transactions.
Sometimes it happens that the check falls
into the hands of unsafe financial parties,
and in that case the bank has little or no
trouble in collecting the amount from
some of the previous indorsers. The adj
vantages of the plan were that 1t really
wiped out Indebtedness by the simplest
of all forms.
II was TO meet want not altogether
supplied by the above system that what
* known ms 'the Cheque Bank OF Lon
don" was formed, about a year ago. Its
leading features are the sales OF checks to
customers in a manner that seems to be a
cross between an ordinary check-book, a
certificate of deposit, and post office or
der. The first years proceedings were
chiefly preliminary and tentative, and
no great progress was attaInahlc.
The advantages of the Chcque Bank
system are that they allow the payment
Of the smallest or largest sums without
the medium of coins or bank notes. The
report says
1--WE Incorporated what never existed
before-an indeleasible instrument OF
currency which, when complete ut vii
by the signature of the holder, Is received
everywhere and by everybody rs cash,
oven when the drawer is stranger
wholly unknown. As no Chcque Banl
check can be obtained .until the mari
u.,,,t amount for which it can filled up
which is stamped on its face has been de
posted Checks on this bank differ from
| those on all others in this most importan
! pacticular--that they are certain to be PAL,
or presentation. Nomquiry INTO The mean
standing OF the person who draws then
is necessary, they can be taken in pay
mcnt and can pass from one hand t,
another with the same confidence, bccaus
! they have the same undoubtcd value as
Bank OF England note for the sam
amount.
Another advantage to the Chcqu
| Bank system is, that its checks do not r.
ouire to be immediately drawn "et I
prevent them from being covered by sui
sequent checks, in which case the loss ial,
ON the holder. A Chequc Bank, on tn
contrary, may pass from hand to hand 9
NAV lock up in II drawer ITS checks, wit
the certainty that they would bc still Il
good AS ever, because the money can oni
be drawn out by the presentation OF tia
document.
1t is stated rs an interesting feature {
the new Cheque Banking system. that
is rapidly coming into operation and "C
quiring business in London. 1t does no
so much complete with the old sytem, bu
il rather improves on it. For instance
it is extensively employed by officers OF tn
army and navy clubs, no interest
charged, and the result is that the sy'en
is rapidly coming INTO use. The ne'
system is chiefly interesting rs Prcsentm
new points of the financial methods q
use in England, and does not seem likel
TO lind much favor in this country.