64 REPORT ON NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1886. 



stiigca of iiuiimiat'tare, aiul the liual product.s. Tiiis, t()i,'et!ier with a 

 detailed cataio.niie, was sent by the Department of Edueatiuu in Tokyo, 

 and is referred to at length in Part v, nnder accession 17339. 



EUROPE. 



The Austrian exhibit at the New Orleans Exposition, consisting of 

 textile goods, dried fungi (one hundred specimens), grains, foods, and 

 musical instruments, was transferred to tiie National INIuseum. 



UELOIUM. 



Eleven geological nuips were received from the Belgian Commissiou 

 at the New Orleans Exhibitiou. 



ENGLAND. 



A most interesting addition was an " exchequer tally " presented by 

 A. W. Franks, esq., of the British Museum, and referred to in Part V, 

 under accession 0G213. 



• This was used by the court of exchequer of England as a record of and 

 receipt for monej' loaned to or by the Government. Tally sticks circu- 

 lated as money in England in 1G97. The tally now i)resented is for 

 £100,000, in part ])rincipal of the loan of £1,400,000 from (xovernment, 

 and for £0,0-19 Qs. 3d. for interest thereon, due September 30, 177G. 

 Paid November 28, 1776.* 



* The Saxon kings of Euglund kept the record of their public accounts on notched, 

 .sticks, and (ho same Kysteni of registering loans was in'actised by the Court of Ex- 

 chequer until the year 1783, when by Act of Parliament, nnder George III, a new 

 method was adopted. 



A supply of hazel, ash, or willow sticks was kept for the use of the Treasury ; when 

 seasoned and prepared, notches were made on one side by the cutter of tallies, and 

 Roman numerals wexn inscribed on the opposite side by the writer of tallies. The 

 notches were made of different sizes to represent pounds, shillings, pence, and a hun- 

 dred or even a thousand {)onnds. The stick was then split through the center by the 

 Deputy Chamberlain, with a knife and mallet ; one portion being called a tally, or the 

 scacha, stipes, or kaucia, and the other portion the counter-tally, or folium. The 

 date of the deposit or credit and that when payment would fall due, and the name of 

 the ])erson having the claim npon the Treasury was also inscribed upon the tally. 

 When payment was due, the counter-tally was presented at the Treasury, and, if it 

 littod with the tally the money was paid, and the two jjarts put together and tiled 

 away as a permanent record of settlement. 



In HVJ", while the metallic currency of England was being recoined, there was a 

 great scarcity of currency, and exchequer tally sticks were put in general circulation 

 as money. The regular currency, also the exchequer tallies, depreciated greatly. 

 The Bank of England advertised a new loan of £1,0U0,000, offering totake 80 per cent, 

 of the same in tally sticks, and this relieved the Government of £800,000 outstanding 

 promises to pay, which became due tI»o Bank, an easy creditor of the King. 



In 1834, by order of Parliament, the great quantity of tallies which had accnmu- 

 l.-ited in hundreds of years were burned in the stoves at the Hou.so of Lords, and, un- 

 fortunately, the great heat set fire to the building and consumed the Houses of Parlia- 

 ment, October IG, 1834. 



