Page:Bankers and Credit (1924).pdf/43



It will be seen that the account is divided into two portions—the Issue Department and the Banking Department. As everyone knows, this eccentric and unique arrangement was imposed upon the Bank of England by Parliament, when it devised the Bank Charter Act of 1844. The Issue Department shows the total of the Bank of England notes issued with the assets held against them on the other side. These assets consist of gold coin and bullion to the extent of the whole amount of the note issue, except the £18,450,000, the fiduciary issue which is permitted, as already described, and was in February 1923 raised to £19,750,000. The Government debt is merely a book debt between the Government and the Bank of England—the very much expanded descendant of the £1,200,000 which was lent to the Government of William III, when the Bank of England was originally