The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1907-12-03

The Specie Room on Board Ship and
the Responsibility of the Captain of
the vessel-The Bullion Truck and
the Journey by Rail.
The precautions which are taken to
guard gold dispatched from the mines
Of Australia, America or South Africa
to the Bank of England, which for
years past has acted as the distribut-
ing agency for all purchasers in Great
Britain, are quite simple, yet thorough
ly safe, says the London Tid-Bits. Ev-
erything is done quietly although in
no way secretly. and without the slight
est fuss. Detectives watch the ship
ment Of the gold and also the unload
ing at the docks. but the idea that two
or three of them take it in turns to
watch the precious cargo during the
voyage is quite an erroneous one.
In rough bars, ranging usually be-
tween 200 ounces and 1000 ounces, the
gold is packed in strong bullion boxes,
which have the appearance of solid
UlOckS vi WUOQ DOQuu Will lAOAi, EJAd%C0
in the strong room which every vessel
of Importance possesses and which is
usually under the saloon, fully insured
and sent across the sea unattended.
The man who is responsible. for the
gold while 1t is on the vessel is the
captain, who signs for the same and
holds the key of the specie room. 1t is
stringent rule, however, that the cap
| tain must not visit the room except
in the presence of witness.
! There is also another rule rigidly en-
| forced. When the vessel reaches the
docks the gold must not be unloaded
unless 1t can be taken direct to the
Bank of England. Suppose. for in
stance, a ship with bullion on board
arrives at Tilbury docks on Saturday
night. The vessel would be considered
en- voyage until the Monday morning
and no leave would be granted. The
captain sleeps on board as long as the
4 specie is there. and the same strict
watch is kept as if on the ocean. If
! the Monday was bank holiday it
would be just the same. the gold be-
ing landed on Tuesday morning.
The London office of the company to
which tile vessel belongs having been
duly informed of the arrival of the
vessel at the docks. a clerk is sent.
whose duty it is to be present when
ever gold comes in. Two or three de-
tectives are also at hand. in all about
4 half dozen officials The boxes are
counted as they are brought from the
strong room, packed on trolleys and.
closely guarded. are hurried away to
the bullion truck in waiting to be con-
veyed to the station.
A bullion truck is about fourteen feet
long, lined with iron. and looks very
much like miniature barge on
wheels. 1t is about three feet high.
has double locks and is always placed
between the engine and the guards
van so that both the guardian of the
train and the custodian of the engine
may keep an eye on it. Such truck
costs anything between ESQ and 1000
to build.
After the gold is entrained the clerk
sends telegram to the head office in
forming the owners what time the
train left the station and the hour 1t
may be expected to arrive in London.
where van is ready to receive it..
The gates of the Lothburg entrance to
| the bank welcome all such deposits of
gold and silver, which enter only to be
hidden FOR fx,ao IN,
derful vaults below. Several iron bar
ricades have to be passed and many
questions put by the gorgeously attired
beadles of the bank to be answered be-
| fore the van with its treasure comes
to standstill at the entrance to the
vaults. The gentleman who superin-
tends the packing of the gold in the
vaults furnished the writer with some
interesting particulars.
1--WE have all sorts and all sizes Of
boxes come in," he said. "many of
them holding 10000, while others
will be hardly an inch square and con-
tain but an ounce of gold. The charge
| for storage per packet is just the same,
be the parcel small or great, an ounce
or hundredweight-tha is, Is. Cd.
box or naked bar of gold and silver
per month. and after the first month IT
is reduced to shilling We never see
the contents of the boxes unless per-
haps when the customs officer opens
two or three out of consignment and
runs his fingers through the golden
pieces to see if there is anything con-
traband hidden beneath"