, 1912-10-31
BANK OF ENGLAND
Trsric and Romantic Episodes In
Its Historic Career.
DEADLY BATTLE WITH A MOB.
Tho Bloody Climax to the Attempted
RAID by the Lord Gordon Rioters-A
Financial Coup That Was Spoiled by
the Duchess Of Marlborough.

kfg
No other banking institution has sc
romantic n history MS that pertaining
to the Bank of England. the ''Old Lady
of T~hreadneedle Street"
One of the bloody episodes In the his
tory of the bank is that embraced In
the story of Charles Walter Godfrey.
one of its early partners in the bank
1t appears that Godfrey while crossing
the channel In the midst of a terrific
storm and laden with 100000 in drafts
for the aid of King william. who was
just then besieging Namur against the
forces of Louis XIV. insisted upon his
right to deliver the warrant for the
money into the hands Of the king. then
in the trenches under hot fire, As he
handed the document to the king. say.
ing. in response to Williams growI of
remonstrance. Am /. then. more ex-
posed TO danger than your majesty?
a cannon ball swept away his head
Not so very many years ago there
stood over the massive fireplace In the
directors of the bank three rusty
specimens Of the old Brown Bess.' to-
gether with a number of roughly
shaped bullets. In these relics was en-
bodied a picture of the November night
in 17S0 when the mob of Gordon riot
ers marched down from Newgate. set
ting fire to every Catholic chapel on
the way and advancing with a force of
5000 upon the bank itself.
The clerks. armed with muskets.
were u%nprovided with shot. Before
them lay rows Of leaden inkstands.
suggesting the possibilities of a new
use. In less than half an hour the ink
stands had been melted and turned
into bullets. The muskets were load
ed. At every window Of the bank
stood two marksmen. their guns train
ed on the mob below. Yet the rioters
came on until they were within ten
yards of the bank gates. Then sharp
and clear above the frightful din rose
the order to fire, and from the win
dows poured a deadly volley. When
the smoke finally cleared away $50
lay dead or dying in the open space
now covered by the %esplanade Of the
Royal Exchange. The attacking army
wavered. stopped. broke line and fed.
and the Gordon riots were at an end.
During the first part of the reign of
George ii. 1t was the practice Of all
banks to give a receipt In payment Of
a deposit. the receipts being passed
from hand to hand and serving the
same purpose as the check of today.
At that time Childs' bank. a private
concern. which had the backing Of a
great part of the English nobility. ex-
hibited such signs of future greatness
that the Bank of England became
greatly alarmed. especially in view Of
the fact that the "Old Lady's" notes
were at a discount Of 10 per cent. So
little by little. through their agents.
the managers of the Bank Of England
bought up every receipt bearing the
Childs signature. allowing the collec'
lions to accumulate each year until the
time should be ripe. during a shortage
of gold. to present the receipts In one
grent mass for payment. 1t was deem
ed a certainty that Childs' ould not
be able to meet the demand and would
thus be ruined.
The principal figure In the drama
that ensued was no other than h ia
ulOuS SdIdn JGhhiibbs Al "ho
bank found its stanchest supporter
One night there came a wild changing
at the bell OF the great gate OF the
town of Blenheim "a changing that soon
awakened every one in the town. A
white faced. travel stained man stag
gered into the ducal hall. begging an
audience with her grace. When the
duchess, in her dressing gown. appear
ed, demanding to know the reason for
this unseemly visitation. the man ex-
planned that the Bank of England held
the Childs receipts In the amount OF
100000. that those receipts would be
presented for payment at noon follow
ing. thai there was not at Childs'
enough gold to meet them. that IN
less the demand could be satisfied with
in eight hours Childs' was ruined and
that there was but one person In the
world-her grace-to whom they might
turn.
Whereupon the redoubtable duchess
sat down and wrote out a check, which
she handed to The agent II was an
order on the Bank of England for the
payment of e7OO.OO0 He was instruct
ed to take this check to the Bank of
England and to say that II 1t hesitated
for a single instant in paying 1t the
duchess would proclaim 1t as a de
faulter.
AT IL o'clock that day there appear
ed at the Childs' ounte an agent OF
the Bank of England bearing a big bag
full of receipts and blandly suggesting
Immediate payment. At the same mo
ment the Childs' agent was In Thread
needle street receiving cash on the
check of the duchess.
The cashiers at Childs' naturally took
Their own lime in sc%rutinizing h re
seipts. spending fully half an hour over
the first batch alone They were at the
end of the first hundred when their