Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: FOREIGN CENTRAL BANKING SYSTEMS. I. BANK OF ENGLAND. The Bank of England antedates all of the central banks in Europe. It received its first Charter on April 25, 1694, for a period of ten years. Its capital was £1,200,000, voluntarily subscribed by the public, and this sum was lent to the Government at 8 per cent, interest, in addition to an allowance of £4,000 annually for management and expenses, making in all £ 100,- 000 yearly. The bank was authorized to issue notes to the extent of its capital. Its early years were marked by great trouble and many vicissitudes, but it survived; and in 1737 an opinion of its services to the kingdom appearing in the London Magazine said: "There certainly never was a body of men that contributed more to the public safety than the Bank of England. They have, upon every emergency, always cheerfully and readily supplied the necessities of the nation . . . and have relieved the nation out of the greatest difficulties, if not absolutely saved it from ruin." Toward the end of the eighteenth century the country was embarrassed by war and in financial difficulty. The bank had always honored its notes up to this time, but in 1796 its gold reservewas drained steadily owing to fear of a Napoleonic invasion. In 1797 the directors felt that a specie suspension was inevitable; and, on appealing to the Government, that institution made public an order, dated February 27, 1797, in which the following appeared: "The directors mean to continue their annual discounts for the accommodation of the commercial interest, paying the amount in bank-notes, and the dividend warrants will be paid in the same way." This suspension of specie payments, although drastic, received the approval of the people, who readily declared their willingness to support the public cred... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.