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LAC OF RUPEES.

A Rupee is an Indian coin of silver, of 2s. 3d. and 2s. 6d., and a lac signifies nothing more than a certain amount, say about £12,500 sterling.

DIAMONDS.

Diamonds were first cut and polished at Bruges, in 1489. Diamond mines discovered at Golconda, 1584; at Coulour, 1640; and at Brazil in 1730.

The weight of diamonds is estimated in carats, 150 of which are equal to one ounce Troy. The average price of rough diamonds is about £2 per carat.

According to this estimate, a wrought diamond, three carats, is worth £72, and one of 100 carats, £80,000. The largest diamond probably ever heard of, is one mentioned by Tavernier, who saw it in the possession of the Great Mogul. It was about as big as a hen's egg, and weighed 900 carats in the rough. The largest diamond ever brought to Europe, is one now in the possession of the sovereign of Russia. It weighs 195 carats, and was long employed as the eye of a Braminical idol. A French soldier discovered the value of the gem, and changed his religion, worshipping at the altar of the god, that he might deprive him of his splendid eye. At length he succeeded in substituting a piece of glass for the diamond, and again became a good Christian! After passing through several hands, the empress Catherine at length fixed it in the possession of the Russian crown, giving for it £90,000, and a perpetual annuity of £1000. It is cut in the rose form, and is the size of a pigeon's egg. One of the most beautiful is the Pitt Diamond, which is a brilliant, and weighs rather more than 136 carats. It was brought from India by a gentleman of the name of Pitt, and purchased by the Duke of Orleans, who placed it in the Crown of France, where it still remains. The celebrated Pigot Diamond is in the possession of Rundell and Co.

INTERNAL NAVIGATION IN ENGLAND.

It was so late as the year 1720, when inland navigation commenced in England, by the deepening of the rivers Mersey and Irwell. The carrying trade between Manchester and Liverpool, was then performed principally by gangs of pack-horses. The owners of these horses of course alleged, that their rights would be invaded, and their profits diminished, by the new navigation; though whether they presented petitions to parliament, complaining of the infringement, and praying that the proprietors might not be allowed to proceed (continues the Leeds Mercury), is more than we can say; but supposing this had been done, and that parliament in its wisdom had determined to protect the vested

interests of these ancient carriers from invasion; and allowing further, that the intercourse between Manchester and Liverpool had continued to increase till it had obtained its present magnitude of 1000 tons a day, the consequence would have been, that the inhabitants of Lancashire would have had to maintain upon the road alone Forty Thousand Pack-horses, which would, when in marching order, have formed a continuous line, in close array, of upwards of eighty miles.

PAWNBROKERS' BALLS.

The three balls, as a Pawnbroker's Sign, dates its origin from the Lombards, the great money-lenders, who came from Lombardy and settled here. The greatest of these traders in money were the celebrated, and eventually princely house of the Medici of Florence. They bore pills on their shield (and those pills, as usual then, were gilded,) in allusion to the professional origin from whence they had derived the name of Medici; and their agents in England and other countries put their armorial bearings over their doors as their sign, and the reputation of that house induced others to put up the same sign.

It has been wittily remarked, that the Three Balls intimate, that it is two to one against your redeeming what you pledge!

ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF THE BANKING SYSTEM.

The Trapezite of the Greeks, and Argentarii or Nummularii of the Romans, were persons who lent money upon usury, kept the accounts of other usurers, and exchanged worn for new money, for a profit, but did not deal in cheques, drafts, &c.

Beckmann, however, says, that they did pay money by a bill, which process was termed præscribere and rescribere, and the assignment or draft attributia, and dealt besides in exchanges and discounts. Philip the Fair, in 1304, ordered a bank to be held upon the great bridge of Paris; and they had booths and tables before church doors, &c., called mensa combiatorum (our Scriptural Tables of the Money Changers), stands at fairs for changing money, &c. They were obliged to give security in property, and were formed into guilds.* We had had a set of them called Caursini, from the family Caursini at Florence, it being agreed that, however divided, they should take the name of that family, penes quam summa mercatura erat. All the Italian merchants who practised usury, were called Lombards; hence our Lombard Street.+

The draft of one banker upon another, and the cheque, occur in Rymer. The deposit of money to be let out at interest, is a practice of the Roman Argentarii, who exercised their trade in

*See article on Guild.

†See article on Lombard Street.

the Forum, under the inspection of the town magistrate; and when they ceased to show themselves, their bankruptcy was declared by these words, foro cessit.-Fosbroke's Encyclopædia.

Such is the ancient history of bankers; with regard to modern times, Pennant says, regular banking by private people resulted in 1643, from the calamity of the time, when the seditious spirit was incited by the acts of the parliamentary leaders. The merchants and tradesmen, who before trusted their cash to their servants and apprentices, found that no longer safe, neither did they dare to leave it in the Mints at the Tower, by reason of the distresses of majesty itself, which before was a place of public deposit. In the year 1645, they first placed their cash in the hands of goldsmiths, who began publicly to exercise both professions. Even in my days, continues Pennant, were several eminent bankers who kept the goldsmith's shop, but they were more frequently separated. The first regular banker was Mr. Francis Child, goldsmith, who began business soon after the Restoration. He was the father of the profession, a person of large fortune, and most respectable character. He married between the years 1665 and 1675, Martha, only daughter of Robert Blanchard, citizen and goldsmith, by whom he had twelve children. Mr. Child was afterwards knighted. He lived in Fleet Street, where the shop still continues in a state of the highest respectability. Mr. Granger, in his Biographical History, mentions Mr. Child as successor to the shop of Alderman Backwel, a banker in the time of Charles II., noted for his integrity, abilities, and industry, who was ruined by the shutting up of the Exchequer, in 1672. His books were placed in the hands of Mr. Child, and still remain in the family. The next ancient shop was that possessed by Messrs. Snowe and Benne, a few doors to the west of Mr. Child's, who were goldsmiths of consequence in the latter part of the same reign. Mr. Gay celebrates the predecessor of these gentlemen, for his sagacity in escaping the ruins of the fatal year 1720, in his Epistle to Mr. Thomas Snow, goldsmith, near Temple Bar.

To the west of Temple Bar, the only one was that of Messrs. Middleton and Campbell, goldsmiths, who flourished in 1622, and is now continued with great credit by Mr. Coutts. From thence to the extremity of the western end of the town, there was none till the year 1756, when the respectable name of Backwel rose again, conjoined to those of Darel, Hart, and Croft, who with great reputation opened their shop in Pall Mall.

BANK OF ENGLAND.

This national bank was first established in 1694, in the reign of William and Mary. It was projected by one Paterson, and its original capital was £1,200,000. The style of the firm is The Governor and Company of the Bank of England.

SAVINGS' BANKS.

The origin of these valuable institutions has been attributed to the Rev. Joseph Smith of Wendover, who, in 1799, circulated proposals to the inhabitants of his parish, to receive from Twopence upwards, every Sunday evening during the summer months, and to repay at Christmas the amount of the deposit, with the addition of one-third as a bounty. The next institution was established in 1804, at Tottenham, in Middlesex, by Mrs. Priscilla Wakefield; and from that period the system has gradually risen to its existing importance.

EAST INDIA COMPANY.

The East India Company of England was first established in 1600; their stock then consisting of £72,000, when they fitted out four ships; and, meeting with success, they have continued ever since; India Stock sold from 360 to 500 per cent., 1683; a new company was established, 1698: the old one re-established, and the two united, 1700; agreed to give government £400,000 per annum, for four years, on condition that they might continue unmolested, 1769; in great confusion, and applied to parliament for assistance, 1773; judges sent from England to administer the laws there, by the government, April 2nd, 1774; Board of Control instituted, 1784; Charter renewed, 1813. Some alterations in the constitution and administration of the Company were effected by the Act 3 and 4 William IV., c. 85, which passed 28th August, 1833.

DISCOVERIES AND INVENTIONS.

MANUFACTURE OF EDGE TOOLS.

Parkes, in his Essay on Edge Tools, says the history of the invention of edge tools is involved in much obscurity. The materials employed by the ancients for making them were various; but the metal in general use in modern times, and among civilized nations, for the fabrication of such instruments, is iron, though this metal varies in its nature, and is differently prepared according to the purposes to which the instrument or weapon is applicable.

Although iron was known before the deluge, yet there is reason to believe that the method of making it was afterwards lost. Tubal Cain, who lived nearly 4000 years before the commence

ment of the Christian era, was an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron;' "* and we are told that Abraham took a knife to slay his son Isaac.† In these early times mention is also made of shears, and of shearing of sheep; and yet many of the ancient nations knew nothing of iron, but used stones, flints, the horns and bones of various animals, the bones and shells of fish, reeds, and thorns, for every purpose in which the moderns now use edge tools of iron and steel.

Hesiod, who probably lived a thousand years before the time of Christ, says plainly, that the ploughshare was made with a species of very hard oak; and from his manner of describing the ploughs that were then employed, there is no reason to suppose that any iron was used in constructing them. The following is Elton's translation of the passage:—

"If hill or field supply an iler bough,

Of bending figure like the downward plough,

Bear it away; this durable remains,

While thy strong steers in ridges clear the plains;
If with firm nails thy artists join the whole,
Affix the share-beam, and adapt the pole."

Though the Britons had some iron when they were first invaded by the Romans, yet, as Cæsar observes, "they had it only in small quantities, hardly sufficient for home consumption, and none to spare for exportation." But after the Romans had been some time settled in this island, this most useful metal became very plentiful, and made a part of the British exports.

On the arrival of the Saxons in Great Britain, our ancestors were still in a low state of civilisation. One of their laws enacts, that no man should undertake to guide a plough who could not make one; and that the cords with which it is drawn should be formed of twisted willows. ||

From this period edge tools gradually made their appearance, but centuries elapsed, even in Britain, or England as it is now called, before they were brought to any kind of perfection. We read but little of swords in the beginning of the 15th century, though no doubt they were then in use, since there is the evidence of Geoffrey Chaucer, who died only two years before the memorable battle of Hamilton was fought, that Sheffield was, even then, famous for its cutlery:

"A dagger hanging at his belt he had,

Made of an ancient sword's well-tempered blade;
He wore a Sheffield whittle in his hose."§

Chronology informs us, iron was first discovered by the burning of Mount Ida, 1406 B. C. In England by the Romans, soon after the landing of Julius Cæsar. First discovered in America, in Ibid. xxxviii. 12, 13. § Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.

* Genesis iv. 22.
Leges Wallicæ, p. 283.

† Ibid. xxii. 10.

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