We did not flinch from our post.

When the storm came upon us, on the morning on which it became known that the house of Overend and Co.

had failed, we were in as sound and healthy a position as any banking establishment could hold, and on that day and throughout the succeeding week we made advances which would hardly be credited.

I do not believe that anyone would have thought of predicting, even at the shortest period beforehand, the greatness of those advances.

It was not unnatural that in this state of things a certain degree of alarm should have taken possession of the public mind, and that those who required accommodation from the Bank should have gone to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and requested the Government to empower us to issue notes beyond the statutory amount, if we should think that such a measure was desirable.