The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-01-06
ROMANCE OF
TREASURE HOUSE
Some Thrilling Events in
History Of the Bank Of
England.

forming an almost complete square
from Threadneedle street in the south to
Coleman street in the nOrth-does not
at first sight seem a likely place for
romance, and yet its history teens with
stories of love, hatred, ambition, raS-
cality and adventure.
William Paterson, who at one time
of his life had controlled every priva-
teer that ran the, Spanish Mama
grim, black muzzled Scotchman-Was
the founder of the bank. He laid the
foundation of his fortune in the buy
ing and selling of slaves and the clear
ing of s 100000 as his share of the
gold found on Sunken Spanish gal
leon. 1t was with this e 100000 and
the profit derived from his buccaneer-
ing expedition that Paterson, banished
to Holland by James IL. and the i'm
placable enemy of all the Stuarts,
found part of the money for the Prince
of Oranges expedition across the
Boyne.
Consequently, with the advent of
William Ill on the throne of England
the first plans for the foundation of
national bank were made, and those
who know of the inside history of those
times doubt not that William III. was
indeed the moving spirit of the scheme
and that Paterson was his official tool
and mouthpiece at the weekly meet
1ngS or famous gatherings of financiers
known as the Wednesday club.
Vain was it for the Jacobites of that
day to denounce the bank as a revoIu-
tionary institution through which all
the wealth of the nation would go into
the hands of the sovereign. The only
concession that the Tory malcontents
were able to obtain from the govern
ment was law that remains in force
to this day-that the bank should not
lend money to the king or the govern
ment, except by consent of both houses
of parliament
Blood-red in the annals of the bank
lives the story of Charles Walter God
frey, partner of Paterson. Crossing
the channel in the teeth of a fierce
storm and laden with 100000 ($300-
000) in drafts for the aid of, King
William, at that time beseiging Namur
against the forces of the fourteenth
Louis, Godfrey insisted on his right to
deliver the warrant for the money into
the hands of the king, who was then
in the trenches under a hot fire. And,
as with humble Obesiance, he handed
the paper to his tactiturn majesty, say
ing in response to the kings gruff re
monstrance. Am I then more exposed
to danger than you, sir?" a cannon ball
swept his head away.
Over the massive fireplace in the
directors room stood some years ago
three rusty specimens of the old Brown
BesS, together with number of rough
ly shaped bullets. In these relics is
embodied picture of that dreadful
night in the November of 1880 when
the mob of Gordon rioters marched
down from NeWgate, setting fire to
every Catholic chapel on the line of
march, and advancing with a force Of
5000 upon the bank.
Then was it that the clerks, armed
with muSkets, remembered that they
were unprovided with shot. Before
them lay rows of leaden inkstands,
mutely suggesting the possibilities of a
new use. In less than half an hour
the inkstands had been melted and
| turned into bullets.
The musketS were loaded. At every
| window Of the bank stood two marks
men, their guns trained on the crowd
below Yet the mob came on, never
hating, never hesitating, until they
gates, and then. sharp and clear above
the pendemonium of yelling, was heard
the order to fire.
From those windows poured q deadly
volley, and when the smoke finally
cleared away $50 rioters lay still or
writhing in the agony of mortal wounds
on the open space covered by the es-
! planade of the Royal Exchange.
| The attacking army WaVered, stopped
|
| don riots were at an end
/ In the early days of George II. it was
| the custom of all banks to give a re-
ceipt in payment of a deposit, the re-
ceipt being passed from hand to hand
and serving the same purpose as the
! check of today.
The growing power of Childs pri-
vate bank, which at that time had the
| backing of half the English nobility,
| had become matter of serious alarm
! to the Bank of England, whose notes
were at a discount of 10 per cent. And
so little by little, through their agents,
! the managers of the Bank of England
! bought up every receipt bearing the
name of Child's bank, permitting the
| collections to accumulate with each
! succeeding year until the time should
| be ripe, during a shortage of gold, to
present the receipts in one vast mass
| for payment. 1t was figured to be a
! certainty that Child would not be able
| to meet the demand and would thus be
crushed out of existence.
Happy for Child's was it that one of
the Bank of England's agents, over the
bottle, let slip the secret.
And now at Blenheim they tell the
story Of that famous night $50 years
ago when the wild changing of the bell
rat the great gate awakened the people
of the village, and of a faced
travel-stained man staggering into the
! hall and brOkenly entreating an audi
| ence of her grace the duchess-none
other than the famous Sarah Jennings
for in her the bank found it's most
powerful friend and patron. Down
came the indOmitable Sarah in her
! dressing gown to receive the visitor
and demand his excuse for disturbing
her peace.
Your Grace" began the messenger
''the Bank of England holds our receipts
for 100000 ($3,100,0 00). Those receipts
will be presented for payment at noon
| today; we have not gold enough to
meet them. Unless we can answer the
demand in eight hours we are ruined
! There is but one person in this world
who can save us-you, our patron, and
to you we turn in our need"
Without word the duchess sat down
at her writing table and wrote out a
check and handed it to the banks
agent. 1t was an order on the Bank OF
England for the payment of 6 zoo, OOC
l$3,500, 000).
Take this check to the Bank OF
England. Tell them that if they hest
tate for one single instant in paying il
I'll proclaim them as defaulters. But
you will see they won't refuse. The
$4,000 may be useful as a margin in
case Of necessity
The hour of noon saw the Bank al
England's agent at Child's counter
blandly presenting the big bagful OF
receipts and deftly suggesting imme-
date payment. But even at that mo-
ment Child's clerk was in Threadneedle
street receiving cash on the duchess
check.
Child's cashiers displayed all the pre-.
monitory symptoms of blindness, fol
1t took them fully half hour to scrut-
inize even the first batch of the re-