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xvi gold reserve has been definitely recognised by its consistent action, and by the equally constant pressure of public opinion. Between them the Bank's sense of duty and the public's insistence on its responsibility have produced a marked advance along the line indicated by Bagehot. He pointed to ten millions as the limit below which the Bank's reserve should not be allowed to fall; now it is rarely below twenty millons. He maintained that "one third of its banking liabilities is at present by no means an adequate reserve for the Banking Department." During 1913 the average proportion of the reserve to liabilities was 49.7 per cent. And all this has been achieved in spite of the growth of banking development outside, which, as has been shown, has made Lombard Street independent of assistance from the Bank, save at exceptional times, instead of being normally dependent on it and so constantly under its control. It is this outside development that has changed the face of the problem. It has already been shown to have altered England's currency, which now consists chiefly of cheques, and it is also the cause of continued heart-searchings among the banking community concerning the adequacy of its cash reserves, in spite of the improvement achieved by the Bank of England. The increase in the Bank's reserve has been great, both absolutely and relatively to its own direct liabilities,