Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-01-09
Bullets From Inkstands.


Then was IT that the clerks, armed with
muskets. remembered that they were I'M
provided with shot Before them lay rows
Of leaden instands mutely suggesting the
possibilities of a new use. In less than
half an hour the inkstands had been melted
and turned into bullets.
From those windows poured deadly vol
ley and when the smoke finally cleared
away 2jO rioters lay still or writhing in the
agony uf mortal wounds on the open space
now covered by the esplanade Of the royal
exchange. The attacking army wavared,
stopped. broke line and Ned, and the Cor
don riots were at an end. In the early
days &c George III 1t was the custom of all
banks To give a receipt In payment of a
deposit. the receipts being passed from
hand 20 hand and serving the same purpose
the check CT today.
The growing power of Childs. a private
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 ut 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 Chi,ds' bank, permitting the
collections to accumulate with each sue
ceedng 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 Childs
would not be able to meet the demand and
would thus be crushed out Of existence.
Happy for Chlds was 1t that one of the
Bank of England's agents. over bottle,
let slip the secret. And now at Blenhem
they tell the story of that famous night
40 years ago when a wild changing of the
bell at the great gate awakened the people
OF the village and of a white faced, travel
stained man staggering into the hall and
brokenly entreating an audience 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
500 600 S31O0OOO). 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 gave 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 100000 (S3 ,5OOOOO.
Take this check TO the Bank of England.
Tell them that II they hesitate for one
single instant in paying 1t I'll proclaim
them as defaulters But you will see they
won't refuse. The $4,000 may be useful as
Il margin in case of necessity" The hour
of noon saw the Bank OF Englands agent
at Chids' counter blandly presenting the
big bagful of receipts and deity suggesting
immediate payment. But even at that mo-
ment Childs' clerk was in Threadneedls
street receiving cash on the duchess check.
ChIlds cashiers displayed all the premon-
itory symptoms of blindness, for it took
them fully half hour TO scrutiniZe even
the first batch of the receipts, and they
were at the end OF the first hundred when
their messenger returned. Then they sud
denly recovered their eyesight and within
ten minutes the Bank cf England had been
paid literally in Its own coin. The net
result of the whole transaction was that
Ch!lds bank was many thousand pounds
richer since which time the Bank Of
England has not looked for fight.