amined as speedily as possible. All those cheques, etc., which the bank officials cannot pay, are despatched forthwith back to the House. The inclearer' at once enters them on the debtor' side (left hand side) of his sheet at the end after the cast, and then finally casts up that side. As soon as entered, the returns' are distributed just in the same manner as are the charges in the afternoon. "As the clearer sits at his desk, he receives the returns sent to him by other banks, and these he enters on the creditor (right hand) side of the sheet. At five minutes past five the bell once again strikes, the clerk runs up his sheet, casting it finally, and strikes the balance, which, if it be a debit one (say £15,009, Is. 6d.) he enters on a little form printed in red, thus: Drs. Messrs.... £15,009 Is. 6d. To General Balance. "If, on the other hand, he has to receive, say £29,347, 2s. 6d., he uses a similar form printed in black: Crs. Messrs.... To General Balances. £29,347 2s. 6d. "Having filled up this little form, he next proceeds to write his ticket, which will be a green,' if he is to receive on account of the day's transactions, a 'white' if he has to pay. The green ticket runs as follows: SETTLEMENT AT THE CLEARING-HOUSE. London,....... To the Cashier of the BANK OF ENGLAND. Be pleased to CREDIT our Account the sum of...... .188 ... out of the money at the credit of the account of the Clearing Bankers. £..... Seen by me Inspector of the Clearing-House. "This is the left hand half of the ticket; the right hand is somewhat different, thus: SETTLEMENT AT THE CLEARING-HOUSE. BANK OF ENGLAND. To Account of Messrs..... has this evening been CREDITED with the sum of... 188 out of the money at the credit of the account of the Clearing Bankers. For the Bank of England, £..... "If it happens that the clearer has to pay on account of his bank, he then fills up a white form, the left and right hand halves of which are as follows: (Left Hand) SETTLEMENT AT THE CLEARING-HOUSE. London,... To the Cashier of the Bank of England. 188 Be pleased to TRANSFER from our Account the sum of...... and place it to the credit of the Account of the Clearing Bankers, and allow it to be drawn for by any of them (with the knowledge of either of the Inspectors, signified by his countersigning the drafts). has this evening been made at the Bank, from the Account of Messrs.. to the account of the Clearing Bankers. £...... For the Bank of England. This certificate has been seen by me, . Inspector. 66 When the ticket is 'white,' the clearer fills it up with the other form, leaves the little form with his sheet on the Inspector's desk, and then hurries over to the Bank of England with his ticket. The cashier at the bank, seeing that the ticket presented to him is signed by the manager, or other persons duly authorized, of whatever bank the clerk may purport to come from, signs the counterfoil, and retains the half, authorizing him to transfer a certain amount from the account of that bank to the account of the clearing bankers. The clearer on receiving the other half, signed by the cashier of the Bank of England, returns to the House to get the Inspector's signature to the transfer, which he then takes to his own establishment. If the clearer be going to receive, he gets the Inspector's signature first, then goes to the Bank of England as before, where the same operation takes place. On regaining his ticket, or rather half of his ticket from the cashier, he returns to his own bank." CHAPTER XX JAPANESE CLEARING-HOUSES Location-Date of Formation-Hours of Clearing-Average Daily Clearings and Balances-Tokio Clearing-houseVolume of Clearings and Growth in Ten Years-Arrangement of Clearing-room-Abstract of Rules and Regulations of Tokio Clearing-house. In view of the recent ascendancy of Japan among the commercial and manufacturing nations of the world, an account of the clearing-houses there existing is of interest to bankers and business men everywhere. The following particulars were gathered from a representative of the Japanese Government, who visited this country a short time since, in quest of information concerning the conduct of American financial and business institutions: There are four clearing-houses in Japan-namely, the Osaka Clearing-house, which dates back to December Ist of the twelfth year of Meiji (1879); the Tokio Clearing-house, which was established December 1st of the twentieth year of the Meiji (1887); the Kobe Clearinghouse, which was established July 1, 1897, and the Kioto Clearing-house, which dates from December 15, 1897. The Osaka Clearing-house Association is comprised of twenty-two members, among which are thirteen head offices and nine branches. The Tokio Clearing-house |