The Turk was at Constantinople; the Castilian was at Granada; Florence had its hereditary Prince; Holland was a Republic; but the Bank of Saint George was still receiving deposits and making loans.

The Bank of Amsterdam was little more than eighty years old; but its solvency had stood severe tests.

Even in the terrible crisis of 1672, when the whole Delta of the Rhine was overrun by the French armies, when the white flags were seen from the top of the Stadthouse, there was one place where, amidst the general consternation and confusion, tranquillity and order were still to be found; and that place was the Bank.

Why should not the Bank of London be as great and as durable as the Banks of Genoa and of Amsterdam?
Before the end of the reign of Charles the Second several plans were proposed, examined, attacked and defended.

Some pamphleteers maintained that a national bank ought to be under the direction of the King.