VARIOUS CORRESPONDENCE 159 



£l notes by whomsoever issued. I have said they were 

 discontinued, not prohibited. Such was undoubtedly 

 the case in 1824. 



The extensive failure of note issue in County Banks 

 in the autumn of that year had caused a tremendous 

 demand upon the Bank of England sovereign to enable 

 the solvent County Bankers to pay their £l notes. By 

 this means all the gold in the Bank of England was 

 drawn out, while notice for further heavy demands the 

 next morning were lodged at the Bank. Under these 

 circumstances it was determined, with the cognisance 

 of Huskinson, on the part of the Government, that 

 the Bank of England on opening that morning should 

 declare its inability to pay Gold on demand any 

 longer. 



All this time the Exchange was in our favour. Gold 

 was coming in steadily though slowly, and whilst the 

 demand of the County Banks was sudden and instantane- 

 ous, someone, however, bethought him that in the vaults 

 of the Bank of England there was an old bundle of disused 

 £l notes and that there was no actual law prohibiting 

 the resort to this. They were brought forth, answered 

 the required purpose perfectly, and the threatened evil 

 was obviated. 



This seems an almost incredible statement, but I am 

 strictly correct. Truth more incredible than fiction ! 



Whether in subsequent legislation the issue of £l 

 notes by the Bank of England has been lately prohibited, 

 I am unable to say. George Norman can probably 

 answer that question and will confirm all I have stated. 



I wish I could contribute more useful assistance to 

 your enquiries. — Yours very truly, Overstone. 



On January 24 of the following year he lectured 

 at Glasgow to a very large audience. The principal 

 attraction, as humorously noted by himself, is a 

 singular one : " The Bailie had advised every one 

 to go because the last time Sir John was there 

 he drove a pin into his leg and made the Lord 

 Provost draw it out ! " 



A little later he was paid the considerable com- 



