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XIII. Any of the parties to this agreement shall be entitled to withdraw from it on giving three months' notice

On the London Clearing House

22. About 1775 the inconvenience of sending out to collect these charges led a number of the city bankers to organise an exchange among themselves, on a similar plan to that already practised among the banks in Edinburgh. They met in a room, and exchanged their mutual claims against each other, and paid only the difference in cash, or Bank notes. It is stated in the Bullion Report, that in the year 1810 there were 46 bankers who cleared; that the average amount of drafts, &c., passed through the Clearing House every day was about £4,700,000, and that all the balances on this account was settled by about £220,000 in Bank notes. The Clearing House was merely an assemblage of private bankers; when the joint stock banks were instituted in the city, they were rigidly excluded until 1854, when the intolerable inconvenience caused to them by the large amount of notes they had to keep idle to meet the "charges," set a question afloat of organising another Clearing House among themselves. Moreover, it is said, that the private bankers, themselves, felt the inconvenience of the heavy "charges" of the joint stock banks. Partly owing to these circumstances, and partly, we hope, owing to the feeling against the joint stock banks having abated, the London and Westminster, the Union, the London Joint Stock, the London and County, and the Commercial Banks, were admitted to the Clearing House in August, 1854, and the Southwark Branch of the London and Westminster, in August, 1855. The latter being remarkable, not only as a branch of a bank being treated as an independent bank, but also as not being in the City of London. The Bank of England was not admitted to the Clearing House till 1864.

Rules and Regulations to be observed in the London
Clearing House

ORDINARY DAYS, EXCEPTING

Morning Clearing to open at 10.30.

SATURDAYS

Drafts, &c., to be re

ceived not later than 11. Morning Clearing must be closed by 12

Country Clearing to open at 12. be received not later than 12.30. closed by 2.15

Afternoon clearing to open at 2.30.

not later than 4.

Drafts including Returns, to
Country Clearing must be

Drafts, &c., to be received Returns to be received not later than 5, excepting on settling days, when the last delivery shall be at 4.15, and Returns at 5.15

FOURTHS OF THE MONTH

Drafts, &c., to be received
must be closed by 12
Drafts, including returns, to
Country Clearing must be closed

Morning Clearing to open at 9. not later than 10. Morning Clearing Country Clearing to open at 12. be received not later than 12.30. by 2.15

open at 2.30.

Drafts, &c., to be re

Afternoon Clearing to ceived not later than 4.15. Returns to be received not later than 5.15; excepting when the 4th of the month shall occur on a Saturday, when the Country Clearing shall close at 2, the Afternoon Clearing commence at 2, and the last delivery shall be at 3.30 and Returns at 4.30

SATURDAYS, (NOT BEING FOURTHS)

Morning Clearing to open at 9. Drafts, &c., to be received not later than 10. Morning Clearing Country Clearing to open at 11. be received not later than 11.30. closed by 1.15

must be closed by 11 Drafts including returns, to Country Clearing must be

Afternoon Clearing to open at 1.30. Drafts, &c., to be received not later than 3.

Returns to be received not later than 4

JANUARY 1ST AND DECEMBER 31ST

On these days an extension of a quarter of an hour shall be given to the last delivery, and to Returns; and a similar extension on days succeeding Bank Holidays.

GENERAL RULES.

The total amount of the Morning and Country Delivery shall be agreed by each Clearer before leaving the Clearing House

All Clerks that are in the Clearing House by the time appointed for final delivery, shall be entitled to deliver their articles, though they may not have been able to pass them to the different desks before the clock strikes

All Returns in the course of delivery upon the stroke of the clock of the time appointed for final delivery, must be received by the Clearers, and credited the same day

Any Bank which has accepted and paid an article returned to it in error, may require repayment through the Clearing House on the following day

Notice shall be entered upon a Board at the Clearing House, giving monthly statements of those settling days at the Stock Exchange, upon which the time for receiving Returns is to be 5.15

With regard to all Drafts not crossed, and all Bills not receipted, sent to the Clearing House as Returns, the Clearer holding them must fully announce the particulars to the Clearing House, and if not claimed, the case must be represented to the Inspectors; but on no account can the Clearer be allowed to debit the Clearing House with the amount until an owner can be found No Return can be received without an answer in writing on the Return why payment is refused

It shall be sufficient in order that a Return shall be received and credited, that it shall have on it an answer, why returned; and no Clearer shall refuse to pass to credit any Return that shall be so marked

All Returns charged upon the Balance Sheet must be marked up and agreed by the Clearer charging the same

All the differences arising from Marked Articles beyond the sum of £50 must be finally ascertained and placed to account, before the Clearer makes up his Balance Sheet

No Clearer shall be allowed to charge out Drafts in the Clearing-out Book at the Clearing House

All differences of more than £1,000 that may have been accidentally passed over at night, shall be settled by a transfer at the Bank of England, the first thing the next morning

The Inspectors are charged with the preservation of order and decorum in the Clearing House, and are instructed to report to the Committee of Bankers disorderly conduct on the part of any persons, calculated, in their opinion, to obstruct the adjustment of the business of the House

Each clearing bank keeps an account at the Bank of England, and the inspector of the Clearing house also keeps one. Printed lists of the clearing banks are made out for each bank, with its own name at the head, and the others placed in a column in alphabetical order below it. On the left side of these name is a column headed "Debtors," and on the right side are marked "Creditors." The clerk of the Clearing House then makes up the accounts between each bank, and the difference only is entered in the balance sheet, according as it is debtor or creditor. A balance is then struck between the debtor and creditor columns, and the paper delivered to the clerk, who takes it back to his own bank. The balance then is not paid to, or received from, the other bankers, as formerly, but it is settled with the Clearing House, which keeps an account itself at the Bank of England. The accounts are settled by means of a species of cheque appropriated to the purpose, called transfer tickets. They are of two colours, white and green, the white when the Bank has to pay a balance to the Clearing House, the green when it has to receive a balance from it. They are signed by some authorised official of the Bank. Thus, if the Bank is debtor on the balance, it gives a

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If the Bank is creditor on the balance, it gives a

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By this admirable system, transactions to the amount of many millions daily are settled without the intervention of a single Bank note

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