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Dignity to the Parliament,
To all his Subjects their Religion and Liberties,
And confirming these to Posterity,
By the succession of the illustrious House of Hanover
To the British Throne,
To the best of Princes, William the Third,
Founder of the Bank,
This Corporation, from a Sense of Gratitude,
Has erected this Statue,
And dedicated it to his Memory,
In the Year of our Lord MDCCXXXIV.
And the first Year of this Building.
Farther backward is another qua-
drangle, with an arcade on the east and
west sides of it; and on the north side
is the accomptant's office, which is 60
feet long, and 28 feet broad. Over
this, and the other sides of the qua-
drangle, are handsome apartments, with
a fine staircase adorned with fretwork,
and under it are large vaults, that have
strong walls and iron gates, for the pre-
servation of the cash. The back en-
trance from Bartholomew lane is by a
grand gateway, which opens into a com-
modious and spacious court yard for
coaches, or waggons, that frequently
come loaded with gold and silver bul-
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| B A N | 237 |
lion; and in the room fronting the gate
the transfer office is kept.
The Bank was established by act of
Parliament in the year 1693, under the
title of The Governor and Company of the
Bank of England, in consideration of a
loan of 1,200,000l. granted to the go-
vernment, for which the subscribers re-
ceived eight per cent. By this charter,
the Company are not to borrow under
their common seal, unless by act of par-
liament; they are not to trade, or suffer
any person in trust for them to trade in
goods or merchandize; but may deal in
bills of exchange, in buying or selling
bullion, and foreign gold, or silver coin,
&c.
By an act passed in the 8th and 9th
years of the reign of King William III.
they were empowered to enlarge their
capital to 2,201,171l. 10s. It was then
also enacted, that bank stock should be
a personal and not a real estate; that
no contract, either in word or writing,
for buying or selling bank stock, should
be good in law, unless registered in the
books of the bank within seven days,
and the stock transferred within fourteen
days; and that it should be felony,
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