The resources of Lombard Street combined are infinitely greater than those of the Bank, which, we have seen, largely draws its own power therefrom, and the directors of the Bank of England, in consulting with the directors of the joint stock banks, proved that they thoroughly understood the constitution of the money market. Moreover, this new step created a precedent which bound the whole market more closely together, for each division clearly recognised how essential it is that the great machine should work smoothly. This can only be accomplished by the best of feeling existing between its constituent parts, and the wise step taken by the directors of the Bank in November, 1890, undoubtedly generated a feeling of sympathy which had formerly been noticeably absent between the various sections of the money market, and which augurs well for the harmonious working of the system in the future. Such sympathy may be the outcome of enlightened selfishness, but it is none the less valuable. The directors of the joint stock banks, when the position of Baring Brothers was revealed to them, instantly recognised the danger of the position, and, as their advances to the Stock Exchange were considerable, they were naturally anxious to prevent a catastrophe which would create a panic in the House, and the end of which it was impossible to foresee. Barings, who are financiers in the English sense of the word, not bankers, had at the worst only been guilty of imprudent speculation, and, as all inquiries were answered in the most straightforward manner, Lombard Street was as anxious as the Old Lady herself to assist Baring Brothers over the stile. Undoubtedly Lombard Street would have liked to make an example of the firm that was caught short of cash, but it was afraid to leave it to its fate, because it knew that discrimination is not one of the characteristics of excited depositors, and that, were Barings to close their doors, the credit of Lombard Street would next be questioned. The outcome of the meeting at the Bank was that the Bank of England agreed to make advances to Baring Brothers in order to enable them to meet their liabilities as they matured, and the large banking companies, on their side, guaranteed the Bank against loss to the extent of £15,000,000. Immense sums had been invested in South America, and when it was rumoured that the wealthy firm of Barings was tottering, Argentine securities were practically unsaleable on the Stock Exchange, where a state of panic prevailed. For a few days the wildest rumours were noised abroad, and the tension, just at the height of the panic, became so acute that even the Consol market was idle. The market then turned in despair to the Bank, which was compelled to borrow £3,000,000 from the Bank of France as a precautionary measure, and also to accept help from the Russian Government.