The Star

Lost and Spoiled Money.

The Bank of England Makes a Big Profit on Her Notes.

Bank notes of the value of thousands of pounds are annually lost or destroyed by accident. In the 40 years between 1792 and 1832 there were outstanding notes of the Bank of England, presumed to have been either lost or destroyed, amounting to £1,330,000 odd, every shilling of which was clear profit to the bank.

In many instances, however, it is possible to recover the amount of the note from the bank in full. Notice has to be given to the bank of the note supposed to be lost or stolen, together with a small fee and a full narrative as to how the loss occurred. The note is then "stopped" - that is, if the document should be presented for payment, the person "stopping" the note is informed when and to whom it is paid. If presented, after having been "stopped," by any suspicious looking person, and not through a banker, one of the detectives always in attendance at the bank would be called to question the person as to how and when the note came into his or her possession. It is quite a mistaken idea that "stopped payment" of a bank note has the effect supposed by very many people. It simply means that the Bank of England carefully keeps a lookout for the note which has been "stopped," and, though it cannot refuse to pay such note immediately on its being presented, a notification would at once be made to the person who stopped it, and the bank would give all the assistance in its power to enable the loser to recover the amount.

In the case of a bank note having been, say, burned by mistake, if the number is known and notice sent to the Bank of England it will pay the amount after an interval of five years from the date of lodging notice of destruction should no one have presented the note for payment in the meantime. The bank in such cases also insists on a guarantee being given by a banker or two house holders that it shall be repaid in the event of the document turning up and being again tendered for payment. It is not at all an unusual circumstance for a mutilated note to be presented for payment, burned perhaps half through, with marks of burning on the fringes. Nor is the damage always accidental. The men who indulge in the luxury of lighting their pipes with a bank note are not always, as some may think, millionaires or recognized lunatics of society. The spoiled notes are more often than not presented by workmen or laborers, who confess without hesitation that they have intentionally lighted their pipes with them from mere braggadocio. - Ashton (England) Reporter.