latter more than undid by letting out on the other. The vacuum created by the withdrawal of Bank of England paper was immediately filled up, and made to overflow by the issue of a more than equal amount of provincial paper; so that had it not been for the rise in the rate of interest, and the other repressive measures adopted by the Bank, the probability is that she might have gone on paying away bullion for notes till she was drained of her last sixpence, without in any degree affecting the exchange. But this is not all. Not only do the country banks almost universally increase their issues when they ought to be diminished, but the moment they are compelled to set about their reduction, they run headlong into the opposite extreme, and unreasonable suspicion takes the place of blind unthinking confidence. The cry of sauve qui peut then becomes all but universal. It is seldom that a recoil takes place without destroying more or fewer of the provincial banks; and, provided the others succeed in securing themselves, little attention is usually paid to the interests of those they have taught to look to them for help.

We have previously noticed the bankruptcy and distress entailed on the country by the over-issue and consequent failure of the country banks in 1814, 1815, and 1816, and again in 1825-26. The influence of the revulsion in 1792 was similar, and equally disastrous; and though, owing to the assistance afforded by the Bank of England, the crisis of 1836 was very much mitigated, it seriously affected the industry and commerce of the empire, and inflicted a blow upon them both, from the effects of which they have not as yet (1838) recovered.

Although, therefore, the exacting of security for their payment from the issuers of notes would protect the holders from loss, and be in so far advantageous, it would not hinder that competition among the issuers that is so very injurious, nor prevent the supply of paper being at one time in excess and at another deficient. If we would provide for that unity of action on the part of the issuers, and that equality in the value of money, that are so indispensable, it must all emanate from one source. Were one body only entrusted with the issue of notes, it would be able immediately to narrow the currency when bullion began to be exported, and to expand it when it began to be imported; and it would be easy for the legislature to lay down and enforce such regulations as would effectually prevent the fluctuations in the amount and value of the currency ever exceeding those that would take place were it wholly metallic. But nothing of the sort need be expected so long as it is supplied by more than one source. Every thing must then be left to the discretion of the parties. And it will certainly happen in time to come, as it has invariably happened in time past, that some of them will be increasing their issues when they should be diminished, and diminishing them when they should be increased; and that the country will continue to be exposed to the incessant recurrence of the most destructive revulsions.

The Bank of England has lent above 11,000,000l. to government, which is a security for her notes; and every farthing of this immense sum must be sacrificed before the public can sustain any loss by them. It is difficult to see why other establishments of which the public know nothing, and which experience has shown are little entitled to con

fidence, should in this respect meet with more favourable treatment than the Bank of England.

In 1833 the charter of the Bank of England was prolonged till 1845. Previously to that year, the notes of the country banks were made payable in gold; but it was then enacted that they might be paid either in gold or in Bank of England notes. In fact, Bank of England notes are now legal tender every where except at the bank and her branches.

The Bank of England is the government bank, transacting for it all the banking business of the nation, receiving the produce of the taxes, loans, &c., and paying the interest of the public debt, the drafts of the Treasury and other public departments, transferring stock, &c. For this the bank receives, exclusive of the use of the balances of public money in her hands, about 130,000l. a year.

The Bank of England sends in weekly accounts of the cash and bullion in her coffers, and of the amount of the circulation and deposits, monthly abstracts of which are published in the Gazette. Quarterly returns of the issues of the country banks are now also required, and the results published.

The Bank of England, and the private banks of the metropolis, do not give interest on deposits; but it is generally given by the banks in other parts of the country. It would be a great public advantage could the Bank of England accept, with safety to herself, of small sums, or of sums of 50l. and upwards, and give interest upon them. The issues of the Bank of England are chiefly made in advances to government upon the security of exchequer bills, &c. ; but, in periods of distress, or when credit is shaken, she has frequently advanced very large sums to the merchants. She discounts no bills of above three months' date.

Scotch Banks.-The act of 1708, limiting the number of partners in English banks to six, did not extend to Scotland; and most of the banks that have been established in that country have numerous bodies of partners. The Bank of Scotland was founded in 1695, and the Royal Bank in 1727, since which time about 30 other establishments have been formed for the issue of notes. Owing partly to the superior stability derived from their extensive proprietary, but more, perhaps, to the less risk attending the business of banking in Scotland, bankruptcies have been very rare among the Scotch banks. They have long enjoyed the unlimited confidence of the public; and, from their receiving small sums (107.) as deposits, and paying interest upon them at about 1 per cent. below the market rate, they have contributed much to diffuse a spirit of economy, and to increase accumulation. One-pound notes were issued by the Bank of Scotland in 1704; and their issue has been thence continued to the present day, the act prohibiting their circulation in England not having extended to Scotland. For many years past very little gold coin has been seen in Scotland. The Scotch banks make their advances partly by discount of bills, and partly by what are termed cash accounts, or cash credits. The latter is a very convenient method of issue. A cash account is a credit given by the bank to an individual for a certain sum, which he may draw out wholly or partially as he pleases, replacing it in the same way, being

charged interest only on the portion he withdraws. The Scotch banks draw on London at 20 days' date.

Irish Banks. - The Bank of Ireland was established in 1783, and the same restriction as to the number of partners in other banks that formerly prevailed in England was enacted in its favour. Owing to that and other causes, the bankruptcies of private banks have been more frequent in Ireland than in England. In 1821 this restriction was repealed, as respects all parts of the country more than 50 Irish miles from Dublin. Since that period several banking companies, with large bodies of partners, have been set on foot in different parts of the country of these, the Provincial Bank, founded on the Scotch model, is among the most flourishing. The charter of the Bank of Ireland expires in 1838, provided notice be then given that it is at an end. The Irish and Scotch banks issue notes for 11.

STATEMENT of the Affairs of the Bank of England, February 29, 1832.

ACCOUNT of the Amount of the Notes of the Bank of England in Circulation, of the Deposits in the Hands of the Bank, of all Securities held by the Bank, of Bullion in her Coffers, and of the Rest or Surplus Capital of the Bank, on the last Day of February in each of the following Years.

AVERAGE Quarterly Account of the Liabilities, Assets, and Surplus or Rest, of the Bank of England, as ordered by the Act 3 & 4 Will. IV. cap. 98.

N. B. The rest is found by adding together the circulation and deposits, and deducting their amount from the amount of the securities and bullion.

AN ACCOUNT of the aggregate Number of Notes circulated in England and Wales by Private Banks, and by Joint-Stock Banks and their Branches, distinguishing Private from Joint-Stock Banks. From Returns directed by 3 & 4 Will. IV. c. 83.

2. WEIGHTS AND MEASURes. The inconvenience attending the use of weights and measures of the same denomination, but of different magnitudes, was early remarked; and there is hardly a country in which efforts have not been made to reduce them to the same uniform system. Numerous acts of parliament have been passed having this object in view, and enjoining the use of the same weights and measures under very severe penalties. But, owing to the inveteracy of ancient customs, and the difficulty of enforcing the new regulations, these statutes have always had a very limited influence, and the greatest diversity has continued to prevail, except in lineal measures. But the statute 5 Geo. 4. cap. 74. seems to have at length effected what former statutes had failed of accomplishing. It is, perhaps, indebted for its success, in this respect, to the limited nature of the changes which it introduced. It made no alteration in the lineal measures previously in use; neither did it affect the previously existing system of weights. The measures of capacity are the only ones which it changed. The wine gallon formerly contained 231 cubic inches, and the ale gallon 282; but these have been both superseded by the imperial gallon, which contains 2774 cubic inches.

Our ancient historians tell us that a new, or rather a revised, standard of lineal measure was introduced by Henry I., who ordered that the ulna or ancient ell, which corresponds to the modern yard, should be made of the exact length of his own arm, and that the other measures of length should be raised upon it. This standard has been maintained without any sensible variation. In 1742, the Royal Society had a yard made, from a very careful comparison of the standard ells or yards of the reigns of Henry VII. and Elizabeth, kept at the Exchequer. In 1758 an exact copy was made of the Royal Society's yard; and this copy having been examined by a committee of the House of Commons, and reported by them to be equal to the standard yard, it was marked as such. This identical yard is declared by the act 5 Geo. 4. cap. 74. to be the standard of lineal measure in Great Britain; and provision is made in the act for its recovery, in the event of its being lost, by declaring that its length is to that of a pendulum vibrating seconds in the latitude of London as 36 to 59.1393 inches.

1. Lineal Measure, deduced from the Standard Yard.