The City of Glasgow Bank, it will be remembered, was in trouble during 1857, but in 1878 both its customers and shareholders had reason to regret that it ever opened its doors again, for the gravest irregularities were disclosed when its affairs were examined, false balance sheets having been certified by auditors and directors during a period of over four years; and once again the public was startled out of its sense of security by the discovery that some bank directors and auditors were not less peccant than the majority of the human race when hazardous speculations landed them in financial difficulties. The directors of the City of Glasgow Bank finding themselves out of their depth, clutched at the proverbial straw, and, like a weak individual who starts with the best of intentions, they were speedily sucked into the vortex of crime. By the Act of 1845 the directors were bound to hold gold against any excess in the amount of the bank's circulation fixed thereby, but they overcame this difficulty by the simple expedient of making false returns to the Government. Having once crossed the line which separates the sheep from the goats the rest was easy. With an utter disregard for the interests of the shareholders, the directors advanced huge sums to firms in which they were pecuniarily interested, and, as these firms did badly, they were compelled either to bolster them up with additional loans or to allow them to fail. They chose the latter alternative, and, as might have been expected, the bank's assets rapidly dwindled, millions of pounds in the shape of bad debts being disguised on the right hand side of the balance sheet as cash in hand, Government securities, and so on. The business of the bank soon degenerated into a mere gamble, and during the latter part of its career the institution was only kept in existence by the continuous perpetration of frauds. Of course the longer the game (it can be dignified by no other name) continued the more desperate were the efforts it called forth, and just before the end the directors hit upon the brilliant idea of conducting a big gamble in Australia, in the vain hope that a decided success would obliterate the mistakes of the past; but about this time rumour was active, and when it was noticed that the bank's acceptances were being hawked all over the City, holders of its paper became suspicious. The bill brokers naturally do not like putting all their eggs in one basket, but endeavour to get as many good names as possible, so that, should a particular firm meet with misfortune, they may be in a position to bear the loss. When, therefore, the City of Glasgow Bank's paper was offered freely, they refused to place more of its bills in their cases, and, inquiries concerning the bank being made in consequence, the end soon came.