Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-08-15
BANK OF ENGLAND.
Something About tho Rich Old Lady of
 Threadneedlo Street.


 Threadneedlo Street. A recent trial in London, Eng, in which the conversion of New York draft into Bank of England notes formed per 1ectlnS link in tho chain of evidence by Which the prisoners were convicted sug- gested to the New York Graphic 0 brief de- scription of the banks methods with regard to it's issue
 The paper on which the notes arc printed is made by q private factory in Yorkshire under strictly guarded conditions as to the Water-mark, which is so conspicuous a feat ure. It is of silver white and so strong that it will sustain fifty pounds in weight when suspended at tho corners. The print ing is performed at the bank III Thread needle street, including the signature of the nominal maker of the draft. The drafts or notes used formerly to be signed by assist ant cashiers, but tho issue eventually be- came too large to admit of sign manual being issued, so printing was substituted. Each individual note as soon as issued has its number, letter, date and denomina- tlon placed to it's debit in a ledger account, the per contra being filed on the return of the note. perhaps the next day. Some years ago lot Of e1 notes issued in the middle of last century were handed in for payment A reference to the ledger of that date showed the credit side of the note with cor
 
 drafts were duly honored.
 The lowest denomination now issued is of f5, the highest of 91O,O00. A notable feat ure of the Bank of England note, when compared with that of other issues and countries, is it's crispnesa and clcarness. The simplicity of design and clearness of lettering and figuring arc very conspicu- ous. The reason why we never find tattered and foul Bank of England bills or bank notes, as the Englishman prefers to call them, arises from the custom of the bank never to issue one of it's notes a second time. This ruleis so scrupulously observed l that should @ thousand notes of 95 each issued in the morning in exchange for gold l at the issue department come into the hands | of the banking departments as q customers deposit in the afternoon, possibly without | having been united, they would be imme- diately cancelled. This cancellation is per l formed by tearing off the signature corner l of each note, the number and date being 1 first recorded by the receiving clerk on his counter cash book.
 The mutilated bills at the banking de- partmentS are collected at short intervals | by clerk from the accountants depart ment, where they are assorted into their l respective denominations and placed to their individual ledger credits. They are then stored, and after ten years interval consigned to the flames.
 The detection of the forged bank note is l almost inevitable under this system. Sim ply to initiate the paper is difficult, the best imitation being readily perceptible to practiced touch. To counterfeit the print ing is almost impossible, owing to tho ab- sence of complexity to confuse the eye, and a third reliance for the paying teller as he rapidly scans the notes before shoveling out the gold in exchange is a peculiarly known only to the initiated.
 Should a forgery slip through these guards the number and dates and denom- ination must all correspond with the ledger entry, and should all these agree the 1 It is the rule in all London banking houses and in most private establishments to re- cord tho date and number of every bank note passing through their hands, together
 with the name of the person presenting it. The Bank of England, moreover, requires the indorsement of the holder of every note or parcel of notes presented for exchange
 for gold or for notes of other denomina-
 tions This system greatly facilitates tho detection of fraud, and in the casc which
 gayc occasion to these remarks was the di-
 rect means of establishing the prosecuting
 attorneys theory.
 The actual cost of each Bank of England pote issued Is about five cents. An ordl-
 nary days issue of notes with correspond ing nUmDcr O1 CaLlCclCu, 1S AIOuA So,OVo eo
 30, 900, but when forgery is known to be afloat all of that particular denomination arc
 poured in by their holders for exchange ol redemption, and as many as S0,OOO notes un der such circumstances have been presented
 and cancelled in ono day.
 As an offset to this expense tho yearly gain to the bank in notes destroyed by fire and water amounts to large sum, which , however, is taken into account by the Gov , ernment when adjusting it's National deb F and exchequer arrangements with tho bank The ''Old Lady of Threadneedle Street, ' , as tho Londoner lovingly calls the institu u tion, which next to his Queen he most deep
 ly reveres, is very liberal when dealin:
 with cases of notes destroyed or mutilated
 The secretary's office attends to those mat
 ters, and there may be seen daily remnant : of notes which have undergone every con @ ceivable ordeal short of absolute destruc s tion.
 q through the digestive apparatuses of dog = and children, half burned pieces that hay V lunwittingly done duty as cigar lighters N remnants of every kind of which enough @ left to indicate in the faintest degree tn
 original worth-all receive full consider;
 tion and the owners lose nothing Eve m total destruction when fully proved is n m bar to indemnifcation when good securit H. against possible mistake is given. ly Cost of Champagne Corks. le "Do you know" said a broker who ha tpr in SfOck- to