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Upon this balance the sovereigns or half sovereigns, according to the machine, slide oneata time, by their own weight, from an inclined half tube, in which they are placed by the handful, forming a. long, in- clined cylinder of gold coins. As each coin weights the balance, the latter sinks. If the coin be of standard weight, the balance sinks far enough for a tiny steel finger movmg to the left to tilt the coin 03 down a. tube into a receptacle below. If the coin be light in weight, the balance does not sink so far, and the coin is caught by a. second finger moving in the opposite direction, which tilts it into a receptacle on the right. These machines work auto- matically and perfectly, and save an amount of labor which can only beimagined, testing 30,000,000 pieces per annum. The room contains 16 of them, all working silently and regularly by atmospheric engine power, under the the care of a single employee. The light coins are im- mediately split in half and returned to the mint, While those of standard weight remain in Circulation. This is a. large square room with counters on all sides, at which all the gold or notes paid into the bank by the general public are received. Anybody can here exchange notes for gold, or vice versa, and all the bags of sovereigns from other banks or from abroad are here paid in. Its only peculiar feature is that anyone paying a note is ask- ed to indorse it on the back. This is for tracing purposes, which will be discussed further on. All the sovereigns and half sovereigns received here immérliately under go ina large room adjoining, the ordeal of the weighers or separators. These are small brass boxes. perhaps a. cubic foot in size, with glass sides. In the centre of the brass top is a small round hole, a little larger than the sovereign, which is filled by'the round plate of a delicate balance. A TEREEFOLD INSTITI'TION. Under the general name of the Bank of England have been grouped, ever since its start, three separate institutions, each of which has been complete in itself and dis- tinct in its operations from any other since the passage of the act of 1844. These are, first, “The National-debt Department,” which occupies the Bartholomew-lane side and conducts the issue of all Government loans and the payment of dividends on its own stock on national bonds and other se- curities controlled by the bank. The second is the Issue Department, occupying the centre of the Threadneedle side, and having for its scope the issue of bank notes, their printing, cancellation and redemption, and the numberless transactions in the issue and receipt of the gold coin and bullion by which the note issue is mainly guaranteed. The third is the Government and General Banking Department, on the Princes-street side, in which all the banking functions of a national treasury and the ordinary busi- ness of an ordinary commerCial bank are separately carried on. THE ISSUE DEPARTMENT. Alter pussmg through the main entrame in Threadneedle Street you come upon an inner court guarded by a gorgeous function- ary in a black velvet cocked hat and a long gown of braided scarlet, who has something of the gaudiuess of a Brazilian parrot, but is much less inclined tp enter into convers- ation. He has great dignity, and holds a wand of ofiice with which to wave you towards the inner door which gives upon the Issue Department. | The relation thus established between the Government and the bank was peculiar, but that it has proved successful is evinced by its continued extension. The debt orig- inally owed to the banlgby the government has increased in the lapse of two centuries from $6,000,000 to $55,000,000, with interest at ‘25} per cent. per annum. The bank build- ing has expanded until it now covers the Whole area between Threadneedle Street, Princes Street, Lothbury and Bartholomew Lane, a space of nearly four acres, upon which its windowless, brown-stone wall- only one Story in height, rise with an as pect of massive impenetrability. This sense oi the majesty of many millions is further reflected in all the crooked and nar- row streets round about. One hundred and fifty banks and hundreds of business enterprises of world-wide fame are crowd- ed together in the centre of the city of Lon- don, all located as near the bank as possible. The visible wealth in securities and other assets here collected in a space not more than half a. mile square, easily exceeds 38,- 000,000,000, the greatest aggregation of riches in a small centre that the world has ever seen. The Thrrc Institutions of “1110]: It Iii-ally l‘ronslsls#llow :1 Director “ado flu- Bank Lose $150,000 by hln (lawlessness. â€"â€"Some Interesting Figures as In the Buslnoss none In lho World‘s firemen! Bank. A London correspondent writes :â€"The Bank of England will reach on July the "27th the 200th anniversary of its births For two centuries it has been as it is to-day. the greatest bank in the world. It began business on July ‘27, 1601. in a small edifice occupying the centre of the Threadneedle- street, side of the present structure, with a capital of $6,000,000, which had been promptly loaned to the Government by a group of city merchants to meet the press- ing necessities of King William. In return for this loan, Parliament passed an act “levying new duties on the tonnage for ‘the benefit of such loyal persons as should advance money (or carrying on the cam- paign against the Dutch.” This enactment created the institution and gave to the “Governor and company of the bank of England” a peculiarly favorable charters which has been from time to time renewed. modified and systematized, though its original fundamental idea. has never been changed. ITS 200*‘4HIVEHSARY W'AS CELE B.. uiD LAST FRIDAY. THE BANK OF ENGLAND.] operations trom the others Lnau It could He just as well conducted in a. separate build- ing. It is required by law to issue a. week- ly statement, and this statement, hung at its door shows on this special day that the outstanding note issueâ€"translated into dollarsâ€"amounts to $220,570,825. This indebtedness, is guaranteed, according, to the statement, by the debt owning from the Government to the amount of $55,075,500 ; other securities to the amount. of $23,922,- 000, and $142,570,825 in coin and bullion now in the vaults. You come next to the secretary’s office where a polite messenger in aheliotrope coat and top hat takes charge of you. He con- ducts you first to the Cancellation Depart- ment, which,with the Printing Department behind it, are on the Princes-street side. No note out of the 50,000 or 60,000 now issued daily is ever issued twice. if, as a depositor, you should draw any amount in notes at the bank and pay them back into your account 10 minutes afterward, they would be cancelled. So also any other notes received by you from any other bank in London are always new ones, crisp from the Bank of England presses of the day before. The signature is cut oflv immediately a. note is paid in. and the Cancellation Depart- ment proceeds to file them in their regular order, taking notice and keeping count of all notes which have not been returned. One of the curiosities of this department is a £25 note, which was paid in after being out for 111 years. The records of this de- partment are of invaluable assistance in checking forgery, and the cancelled notes which are kept for a period of six months before being burned are constantly under examination by Scotland Yard detectives in search of stolen money or other people whose notes have been lost. The notes are printed in a. long and nar- row printing room, in which adozen ma- chines of similar construction are in full action. Their denominations vary from £5 to £1,000, the largest note now printed. They cost from 10 to 12 cents each. iA single impression completes the note specially numbered, dated, and signed by the cashier. Great reliance. as a. check upon counterfeiting is placed upon the aper itself the engraving, as compared with the Canadian bank-note standard,heing less elaborate. The paper, specially made from pure linen ragsfis strangely thin and remarkably tough. It has a peculiar shade of whiteness impossible to deacribe, and is printed in indelible black ink of special manufacture. The paper is made by a secret process at a. special mill, which time One of the directors in 1741‘ deposited $150,000 and Look a single note, filled out, by the cashier. in return. He went home, laid the note on the mantlepiece, and fell asleep. It. disappeared. He be- lieved it; had fallen into the fire, made an affidavit to this efi'ect and received $150,- 000 more, giving aguarantee that if the note was found he would assume its re- sponsibility. Thirty years afterward the men having in themeantime died, the note was presented and the bank had to pay it, and as the man’s estatehad long been divided, the bank lost, the money. A question often raised is whether or not a. Bank of England note, which mainly com- poses the national currency. is invariably good for its face. As a matter of fact, whether lost or stolen, the note will always be paid at the bank. Thence came the habit of requesting all persona presenting notes in the Issue Department toindorse them. The custom is for every person who reports his loss of a note to pay half acrown (60 cents), and for this sum the bank guarantees to send him the name or names of any person who may present the stolen money. Nearly all the stolen notes in England are returned through bookmak- ers. These men do business on race courses, and have no means of tracing persons who deal with them. They suffer no loss through the stolen paper, and are very generally ‘ used in this way by thieves. ‘ Gold in hers is received by the Issue De partment and paid for in notes at the rate of £3. 17.1) an ounce of 22 parts of pure gold out of ‘24. This price is three halfpence be- low the market value of gold an ounce, and is consequently less by that proportion than the seller would receive in coin after it had passed through the mint. He would lose interest on it, however, while it was being corned, and the discount arrangement, which is a convenient one for both parties. yields the bank an annual profit of£15,000. For the privilege of issuing the notes and for the exemption of duty upon them. the bank pays the Government about £200,000 per annum. On the contrary, the amount paid by the Government for the manage- ment of the national debt, nccording to the act of 1892, is £325 per million up to £500, 000,000. and £100 per million for the re- mainder. This now aggregates about the sum above mentioned, £200,000 per year. The Issue Department practically manages itself, presenting no complications in the ordinary course of business. As every bans note issue beyond the amount of £16,700, 000 is represented by bullion in the vaults, and the £16,700,000 is invested in Govern- ment securities, no risk can possibly occur until the issue of bank notes is reduced to this amount, and even then the converti- bility of the liability would be easy. The bank is msnsged by 24 directors, in addition to the governor and deputy gov- ernor,an:l they by their committees have fullcognizance of all the bank's transact» ions and full governing power in all re- spects. The governoxsare selected annual- ly as candidates by the directors from among themselves, though they are elected by the stockholders. The chief accountant and chief cashier reside within the bank's wells, and they or their deputies are always supposed to be on the premises. Clerks of standing and character are also selected to remain at the bank every night during the year, and on Sundays and bank holidays. A guard of soldiers is on duty every night, marching from the-tower and they are as- sisted by a. body of watchmen, formed of porters and workmen,fully trained in case of fire or other emergency. The total num- ber of employees is about 1,200. the salaries and wages amounting to £290,000 per year, and thevpensions to £44,000. The present price of Bank of England £100 shares is £330, and the holders of the stock are 270,- 000 in number. Only a convenient. percen- tage of them attends the annual meetings, as otherwise these would requlre to be he!d in some such spacious meeting room as Hyde Park. The issue Department is so distinct in its )emtlons from the others that it could he st as well conducted in a. separate build- PRINTING THE BANK NOTES. HOWTHE BANK IS MANAGED. CANCELLATION DEPART \I ENT. Pigeons and Bi cvcles in War. Experiments with ’cyclists and carrier pigeons for transmitting messages are being made by the Gymnastic Society of Home in the interest of the Italian army. The rider carries a. small cage attached to his machine in which are several well-trained pigeons. When important observations have been taken and jolted down they are placed in envelopes and affixed to the birds. which are liberated. In every instance thus far the birds have flown promptly and in a. straight line back to headquarters, over distances of from ten to twenty kilometers. It is thought that this combination of bicycle and pigeon service can be very profitably used in military observations, and the Italian army oifice proposes to continue the experiments. (9) That (‘opies .of these resolutions be forwarded to the Premier of Canada, to the Minister of Railways and Canals. and to the Boards of Trade and Grain Exchanges of Brandon. Portage la. Prairie, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, Duluth, West, Superior, Grand Forks, Fargo, Minneapolis and St. Paul. Some idea. of the number of New York men who get theil clothes in London may be gathered from the fact that recently there were 23 agents for English tailoring houses in that town. Most of the goods are brought into thecouut-ry free of du'sy and cost the wearers little less than the same clothes made here. All the big London houses have placesin New York cxty where alterations are made free of charge. (3) That we would most respectfully. but, most earnestly, urge upon the Govern- ment of Canada. to cause careful surveys to be made, without delay, with a. View to as- certain the feasibility of opening a. canal of six feet depth between the Red River and the Lake of the Woods, and the probable cost of such an undertaking; as well as to cause an estimate to be made from actual surveys of the probable cost of opening a. continuous Waterway from the Lake of the \Voodmsto Lake Supeiior. ‘ r _ out of mind has been the property of the Pogtal family: The note to-day is practically the same as it ever has been, and its apparent sim- plicity offers a. great temptation to counter- feiters out of employment. The known losses of the bank through counterfeiting mount up in the 200 years of its history among the millions. Forgeries today are rare. The machinery of detection is per- fect, and the system of numbering. as well as the perpetual use by all banks of freshly printed Bank of England notes, presants insurmountable obstacles to “smashers.” (7) This instinute rejoices to learn that the Council of the City of Toronto are tak- ing steps for holding an International Conference in that city at an early date with aview to the advocacy of sucha scheme. The most sensational episode in the his- tory of forgeries on the bank of England was that of the Bidwells. While the total amount ofmoney out of which they defraud- ed the bank was not as large as had been obtained by other great swindlers‘ the scale on which they were operating, the system- atic cleverness with which the coup had been arranged, and the wonderful skill with which a large number of forgeries had been executed and passed by the bank, showed clearly that but for an accidental discovery, through carelessness on their part, the amount of their frauds might easily have mounted into the millions. The lollowing resolution was adopted at. the annual meeting of the Manitoba Central Farmer’s Institute, held at Brandon, Man.. the other day. Moved by R. E. A. Leech. seconded by Henry Nichol, and resolved :â€" (5) That inasmuch as the entire route is essentially an International one, and as the canals forming part thereof on either side of the line are by international treaty ded- icated to the use of the citizens of both countries on equal terms, the work and the expense of further deepening the Welland and St. Lawrence systems ought to be undertaken and borne by both Gm eru- ments, so that the two countries shall con- tribute to the entire cost of the undertaking in proportion to their respective interests therein. (6) That. the whole water route from the head of the lakes in the sea. should be put under the control of a. permanent. joint commission, to be appointed by both coun. tries, and its protecLion should be guaran- teed bv international treaty. (1) That in the opinion of this institute the great lakes and the Sb. Lawrence River furnish a valuable natural highway for the commerce of a great part of the Northwest on both sides of the international bounda- ry ; and in order that the public may enjoy the full benefit of that highway the canals along the route ought, in the immediate future, to be enlarged so as to accommodate ocean shipping. (2) That such a deepening of the through channel is even now urgently demanded for the accommodation of the fast increasing tratfic of the country west, and northwest of the lakes ; and it, will, if accomplished, by materially reducing the cost of trans- portation, greatly encourage immigration to this district, and most actively promote the development and presperity of the country on both sides of the line. (3) That the Government of Canada,hav» ing undertaken many years ago the deep- ening of the St. Lawrence Canals to four- teen feet, that work ought to be pushed forward to completion with the utmost possible diligence. (-1) That inasmuch as the works now in progress on the upper lakes are calcu- lated to furnish, within the next two years, a. channel of twenty feet in depth from the head of the lakes to Bufialo, it is most essential in the interests of the Northwest, as well as of the country at large, that the depth of the \Velland and St. Lawrence Canals should he further in- creased so as to make a. channel of a uni- form depth of twenty feet to the ocean. A Resolution Favor-Ina the Project Pann- Nl by the Manitoba Central Farmer's lnsulule. It’s English You Know CANAL ENLARGEMENT. It is diflicult to avoid the conclusion, with respect to this project, that it will be a. tremendous benefit to our neighbours, seeing that under the Washington treaty they have the use of all our artificial water~ ways. For such a benefit they surely ought to pay. \Ve may build a. Suult canal to relieve the United States canal, and to protect our own shipping interests, but to expend a. hundred millions on works that will be more useful to our neighbours, who contribute nothing to the cost, than to ourselves.is an excess of generosity from the practice of which we may fairly hope to be excused. Most people will be disposed to doubt the utility of the wasp, those handsome insects which create so much terror when they invade our rooms or buzz. about our heads iuthe country lanes. Yet even the wasp has its use, and a. very important part it plays in the economy of nature. \Vhat hawks, kites, ravens. owls and birds of prey generally are in the case of field mice and such destructive rodents, the wasp is to grubs and other pests that infest» and injure plant life. The birds named have been nearly exterminatedin the British Isle under the belief that. they are inimical to game, and vile plagues have been the result. The San". (Hum! Will (“we Canada an llnhrokvn Waterway n-um the III-nil or Lake Superior In the Sen. By the completion of the Sault canal another important and interesting public work is added to the number of which the Dominion now boasts. Wth the water- way was undertaken opinions were serious- ly divided touching the necessity for it. Immediately to the south lies the canal of the United States. To this Canal Canadian vessels are admitted on terms similar to those accorded to American vessels; that is to say, we use the United States cana. without toil or fee. Seeing that the neigh- boring canal is at our disposal, it appeared to many of us as if the building of a specia Canadian canal were a. waste of effort and of money. . At this season of the year, the wasp is particularly useful, especially in orchards. The young pupre in the nest are fed entirely on grubs which infest fruit trees; and but for the activity of the wasp. these pests would become so numerous as to do serious injury to the tree. It is quite true that the Wasp subsequently levies toll on the fruit ; but his labors have largely contribut- ed to the salvation of the crop, and the little he takes should not be grudged. A wasp, it should be known, is quite harmless, unless when forced to defend itself ; then it is unquestionably vicious. But if left alone it will not sting. though too losec proximity should not be tolerated. and perhaps more. The c‘ a. masterpiece of engineei struction. In is 18,000 feet ing the approaches; and 1 feet; long by sixty feet wi feet three inches deep. \V asib will be in a. week on During the debate on the proposal to undertake the enterprise one of the legis- lators suggested that in case of war the United States canal would certainly be closed against us; thus a Canadian canal, i constructed Would turn out to be a handy and, indeed, welcome possession. But the argument from the military point of View was not strong. Should hostilities unfor- tunately break out either Canada or the United States would speedily control the- two canals. The Circumstances which no- tually led to the construction of the Canal dian canal were two in number. First, the traffic through the United States canal is With the business extending it is possible that, in the course of time, the shipping of the United States may enjoy a. preterence in the use of the canal. There is nothing in any treaty to prevent such priority being given. In the second place, the treaty under which we are conceded the right to pass through the Sault canal is, like all other international instruments, subject to reconsideration. A short time ago it was argued across the line that the treaty had already been denounced, and everyone will remember that in spite of the fact that we were allowed by the treaty equal rights on the canal, 'a discriminating toll was levied for one season. It is true that a pre- text was discovered for this discrimination, and that the hostile act'on was declared to be retaliatory. But the fact remains that the discrimination was practised, and that at some future time it may be repeated. The actual meaning of the canal is, therefore, that on her own waterways Canada is to be independent. When the proposal to assert our independence was made the cost of the process, bfised upon engineers’ estimates, was fixed at a. million of dollars ; for a. mil- lion we were to get a Sault canal complete and ready for use. But the estimates of the engineers, as is too frequently the case, were below the mark. The work, as ori‘ ginnlly planned, would have cost far more than a. million ; as extended, elaborated,and improved it has involved an expenditure of AN IMPORTANT PUBLIC WORK. T\V0 MILLIONS AND A HALF, The Wasp‘s Mission. GROWING ENORMOUSLY. The canal éégipeerins‘ wt. in length d It has a. I4 wide, and When in is Pnuengerq l‘pset and Two of Thom Silglfl ly llnrlâ€"A Snilorman Disabled. Amighty sea, lashed up by a. westerly gale, caused consternation on the Cunard steamship Lucania on Monday iorenoou, when she was about 500 miles out from Queenstown. bound for New York, The Lucania was bounding westward nearly at top speed, when the wave toppled over the port bow and rolled aft. Its spray broke on the promenade deck. The bridge rail- ing was bent and twisted. Passengers who had been sitting on chairs and looking at; the angry sea from the main deck fled from the invadlng water. A sailor who was knocked against an iron railing lost several teeth and three of his ribs were broken. A cabin passenger was throwu against a rail by the sudden checking of the ship‘s pro- gress. His head‘was cut. "- . . Looking Towards England. No steps have apparently yet been taken by the legislators of the United States to prevent a. recurrence of the industrial dis- turbances of the year. There are,hOWever- indications of the prevalence of the idea that something can be gained by looking towards England. According to the figures given by the British Board of Trade, there were 69:! strikes and eight lockouts in Eng- land in 1892, and of these 345 were set- tled either by mutual conciliation or by mediation, 115 by submission of the work- people, 79 by the hands being replaced, 33 by conciliation and submission, 13 by con. ciliation and hands being replaced, 22 by submission and hands being replaced, and 16 by arbitration. Conciliatory methods have, therefore, settled more than half of the difl'erences. and it has been said by the Westminster Gazette that there is “a grow- ing opinion expressed year by year, both among employers and workmen, in favour of various forms of arbitration and concilia- tion." The Philadelphia Record is right in saying that "evidently the didactic tone of the London press towards this country during the recent strike in the West wag not altogether unwarranted." Of cours zfio legislation is necessary to make arbi tion possible where the disagreeing parties are willing to arbitrate. rollers which by means of handles, can he moved about in exactly the same way and quite as easily, it is claimed, as the garden tool mentioned. The lawn-mower resem- blnnce, in fact, is perfect. The frame, or rather base plate, is of steel, and carries the cutter on its under side, while the motor is placed on top and drivesthe cutter through intervening gear Wheels, giving it a speed of 3,000 revolutions per minute. The hind roller of the base plate, which fol- lows in the cut, is fitted with eccentric journals, so that. by moving a. lever. they can be raised or lowered, and the depth of cut nicely adjusted. The principal field of the machineâ€"the one, in fact, for which it was specially designedâ€"is the planing of ships’ decks, taking off the pitch and in- equalities of the seams of deck plank after being laid and calked. [his work has usually to be done in circumstances of con- siderable inconvenience and disagreeable- ness. the carpenter having to go down on his knees, driving a jack-plane before him, together with wood shavings and other things less clenn. Ordinary floor planing, however, can obviously be done by the ma. chine with fully as good results, so that it is not necessarily restricted to shipyard use A good many of the men Were below. M r. Mendes was one of a. party oi about a score who were sitting on steamer chairs looking at the tumult. It was not raining, and the sky was almost cloudless. A fair-weather gale was piling up the seas. He thinks that it was not so much the height of the sea as it was the tremendous forward motion of the ship, which was being run at full speed, that created the disturbance. She plunged her sharp prow deep into the first wave, the crest of which, Mr. Mendes thinks. came up almost to the bridge. The biggest part of it was a. solid green mass, and swept athwartships and tore awayfifteen feet of the port rail. A part of it reached the promenade deck, and wrenched from their fasteniugs two heavy benches. The passengers in steamer chairs on the pro- menade deck retreated aft, and some of the chairs were swept back with them. a Just after the first; big sea rolled aboard another followed it, increasiugthe confusion especially among the steerage passengers. of whom there were 465. A woman was knocked down and bruised. A part of the torrent smashed in the thick plateglass windows of the library and flooded it, ruining some of the upholstery. An iron ventilator under the bridge was twisted out. of shape, and other ventilators were washed away. The steamship was slowed down and no more water came aboard. One of the passengers on the Lucauia. Mr. D. De Solo Mendes, said that, when the big wave came aboard nearly all the ladies were in their berths, the sea being pretty rough for such as were not good sailors. Mr. Mendes, to whom big waves, according to his own account. are familiar visions, thinks the wave was a pretty good sized one. An Electric Floor-Planer. Applying the lawn-mower principle to the making of a. planing tool, a Scotch engi- neer, Malcolm Sutherland, of Dumbarmn, has designed the rather unique piece of ap- paratus shown in the annexed sketch, and consxsting, in brief, of an electrically driven revolving cutter, mounted in a frame on LUCANIA SHIPS TWO SEAS. THE ELECTRIC FLOOR- PL ANER‘