River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1894-04-05
PAPER MONEY IN CHINA.
Currency Known In the flowcry Land Over
Thousand Years 1go.

Ahou-ahu teaf- USO.
If we are to attach any value to the
statement made by Klaproth in the
Asiatic Journal for 1s22 the invention
of bank notes belongs to the Chinese
At the commencement of the reign of
Harrisburg, of the Thang dynasty,
in the year s07 of the Christian era,
and on the occasion of a great famine.
the emperor decreed that all merchants
and wealthy persons should deposit
the whole of their gold and silver in
the public treasury, and in return
there were delivered to them notes
called fey thsian,' or flying money"
Three years afterward this paper
money was called in at Pel1in, but its
circulation continued to be authorized
in the provinces. In A. ID. 906
the paper currency was revised
by another emperor, merchants being
permitted to deposit their bullion in
the exchequer, and to receive in ex-
change notes called running money"
In 1921 this currency represented a
value of nearly three million ounces of
silver. Whether these bank notes were
printed from metallic plates has not
been ascertained; but, taking into con-
sideration the statement made by the
Jesuit missionaries, that what is known
as 'block printing" had been practiced
in China from the very earliest years
of our era, it is extremely probabl
that the ancient Chinese bank notes
were impressions taken from engraved
blocks of wood In what manner the
MEDIEVAL European banks of deposit
made acknowledgement of their in
debtedness is mystery. The
first banks of deposit and ex-
change were established in Italy.
very possibly on ancient Ro-
man lines. The early Italian "ban-
co" was simply a money-changer's
desk, or counter; and when the finan-
cier was unable to discharge his pc
cuniary obligations, his bench. or
counter, was hewn in twain, and by
metonomy the insolvent financier was
said to be 'banco lotto" or bankrupt.
AS for the bank note, it seems to
have had a {, lble origin, partaking
equally of the character of a certificate
of deposit and of a promissory note or
bill of exchange. The acceptor of the
note confided to the banker a certain
sum in specie. which the banker kept
in his vaults. thus saving his customer
the expense and the danger of carry
ing large sums of money from place to
place at a time when Europe was al
most constantly convulsed by war, and
the line of demarkation between
soldiers and biigands was of the
thinnest possible description. The
banks of Venice and of Amsterdam
issued these certificates and promissory
notes long before the ablishment of
the bank of England; and the earliest
notes of the bank esta blished by Will
liam Patterson were known as bills. -
A merchant who wished to remit a sum
of money to a correspondent living at
some distant place proceeded to the
bank, deposited SO much hard cash and
received a "bill'i containing a promise
to repay the sum deposited on demand.
The scheme of = bank of England
appears to have been frequently de-
bated during the commonwealth. and
was seriously discussed at meeting of
the first council of trade at MERGERS
hall after the restoration. London
Telegraph.