Both 1855 and 1856 were years of unusually high Bank rates, and during 1857 the demand for loanable capital became so pronounced that the Bank of England, in order to protect its dwindling store of bullion, had to raise its rate still further. The year opened with six per cent. In July it fell to five-and-a-half per cent., but by 19th October it had reached eight per cent. On 5th November nine per cent. was recorded; and upon the 9th of the same month it was hurriedly raised to ten per cent. Lombard Street had then practically arrived at the end of its available resources; and demand, of course, centred itself upon the bank which held the bankers' cash balances. The Bank of England, as usual in those days, was quite unprepared to meet a crisis, and made application for assistance to the Government. Had help then been refused, it must inevitably have closed its doors, for the reserve in its Banking Department on 13th November, 1857, had fallen to £957,000, while it was rumoured that, at the close of a particular day, the reduction was appreciably greater. In plain English, the Bank of England was practically broken. On 12th November the Government consented, for the second time since 1844, to the suspension of the Bank Charter Act; and when it became known that the Bank of England was in a position to increase its circulation to an unlimited extent, and to advance notes against the better-class securities, the nervous tension created by the numerous failures throughout the country instantly relaxed, and in a few days a comparative calm followed the storm. Indeed, before the close of 1858 the Bank rate was down to two-and-a-half per cent. The suspension of the Act during a crisis creates a market for securities at the Bank of England. Furthermore, at so critical a moment the Bank is the only market in existence; consequently those securities in which it decides to deal are alone saleable, and we know that it confines its advances solely to the so-called gilt-edged securities and to good bills. Of course, if the public only thought, it would instantly perceive that the more notes the Bank issues in excess of its authorised amount the less secure is its position, because the smaller is the proportion of gold in the Issue Department to its liabilities. But the British public is led; it does not think. If it did we should speedily be in the throes of a revolution. The public thinks the Government lends its credit to the Bank, but in reality it does nothing of the kind. It simply authorises the Bank of England to break the law, and to advance notes at its discretion. However, the credit of the Bank is so good that the public, seeing that it has the "moral" support of the Government, possesses absolute confidence in its stability; and though it trusts the Bank blindly and unreasonably, that institution has earned its gratitude upon more than one occasion, and its history, if full of mistakes, certainly entitles it to this confidence.