CENBKAI. rOST'OI'FICE. ClJ 
Nrticular stock. In each of these, under the sehenil letters 
tlie alphabet, are arranged the books, in which the 
^tnount of every individual’s interest in such a fund is re- 
gistered. The hall for the issue and exchange of bank- 
ttotes is a noble room, seventy-nine feet by forty, and con- 
tains a very fine marble statue of King William III., the 
founder of the bank, an admired piece of sculpture. 
The Bank of England covers an extent of seveial acres, 
and is completely '^insulated. Its exterior is not \insuitable 
'o the nature of the establi.shment, as it conveys the idea of 
tlrennlh and security ; but having been erected at different 
I'eriods, and according to different plans, by several archi- 
tects, it wants uniformity of design and proportion. In the 
'nterior, a variety of alterations and improvements have 
hcen made to accommodate the vast increase of business, 
and of the paper-money and discounting systems. This has 
terpiired considerable enlargements of the olfices in e\cry 
department, and has led, in the space of twenty-five years, 
to the necessaiy increase ot the clerks from two hundred 
to eleven hundred. The capital, or Bank Stock, of this 
grand national establishment, has also been considerably 
and progressively augmented : at its incorporation, in l6g-I, 
this ca))ital did not exceed 1,200,000/. ■ but has since risen 
to 1 - 1,(108 500/. The direction is vested in a governor, 
deputy-governor, and twenty-four directors, elected annually 
at a general court of proprietors. Thirteen of the directors, 
'•vith'the governor, form a court for the management ot the 
business of the institution. 
Glv.NERAL POST-OVEICE. 
This collection of buildings, important as its coiicenis are 
to tl.e nation, doe.s not claim any praise in an architectural 
point of view. It stands behind Lomhard-street, fi*0!n 
ii'hich, on tlic south-.side, is a passage leading to it, under 
^n arched catewavi It vas erected in IfifiOi hut great 
ttildiiions have been made to it from time to time, though 
the whole is disjointed and inconvenient. A ]ilan has, how- 
ever, been adopted for erecting a building worthy of this 
great establishment, on the site now called Sc. Martin s-le- 
Grand. and to improve the access to it by puiling down the 
cast-ends of Newgate-street and Paternoster-row. It is 
bow proceeding rapidly. 
