BANK BUSINESS. 
the circumstances could have done better, and he had 
expected to have recei ved some complimentary notice of 
it, possibly it might lead to a rise of screw,” after 
the crop was off, but no chance of that now. He may 
consider himself lucky if his services are not dispensed 
with. Mr. B»ow'n was very down-hearted: even the 
tappal cooly noticed it, and the dirty man in the kitchen 
with the grey beard th<^ next morning remarked to the 
kitchen cooly that the brandy bottle in the side- 
board was ‘‘ quite done,.” 
In these days the bank in Kandy cashed the simple 
written order of the superintendent on the Colombo 
agency. When the snperintentent wished to pay 
his coolies, he went to Kandy, stood at the counter 
of the bank, took pen, ink and paper, and wrote: — 
“ Messrs. A.B,. C, & Co. pay to the order of the Orient- 
al Bank the sum of five hundred pounds, on 
account of such and such an estate ” The money was 
immediately counted out, less 1 per cent commission,, 
and he took it away. Of course the superintendent 
Vi ho did this was known, as a man of some position 
and character. I think the Colombo agencies advised 
the bank of the superintendents who were to be- 
trusted in this way. 
After the great mercantile crashes of 1847-48, the 
banks became more strict in the way of transacting 
this business ; they even were chary about a Colombo 
cheque. What if the house had stopped payment be- 
fore the cheque reached Colombo ? So about that time 
commenced a system of the Colombo agency sending 
the superintendent a letter of credit from the^ 
Colombo bank ; they had paid in the money there,, 
and received an order for the amount on the branch 
office in Kandy, so that the latter was perfectly 
secure, in paying out the money. Piles of rupees^ 
stood on the bank’s counter, and the shroff with a 
tinu stick sepnrated from the lot the required amount ;■ 
it was never counted, hut just shovelled into the bag . 
Coolies were in waiting in the verandah, we tied up- 
the bags, sometimes sealed them, lifted them on the 
heads of the coolies, took them to the hotels ordered 
the horse to be saddled and brought round, and pro- 
ceeded on onr way. It was one per cent commission 
on Colombo cheques and ord<^rs then, and it must 
havcost the banks a gool deal, getting up specie by 
the old coach. 
In a few cas^s — to the credit of superintendents, 
however, very few — this liberty of drawfing on the 
Colombo agency was abused : they drew the moiit}’’ 
and absconded from the country ; it raay he also that 
they drew money, and used it for private purposes, 
which they had no right to do^ without asking leave; 
