nd distribution of cheques, bills, &c,
could be more expeditiously conducted by the appointment of two or three
common clerks to whom each banker's clerk could give all the instruments
of exchange he wished to collect, and from whom he could receive all
those payable at his own house. The payment of the balance settled the
transaction, but the arrangements were afterwards so perfected that the
balance is now settled by means of transfers made at the Bank of England
between the Clearing-House account and those of the various banks, the
Clearing-House, as well as each banker using it, having an account at
the Bank of England. The use of the Clearing-House was still further
extended in 1858, so as to include the settlement of exchanges between
the country bankers of England. Before that time each country banker
receiving cheques on other country bankers sent them to those other
bankers by post (supposing they were not carrying on business in the
same place), and requested that the amount should be paid by the London
agent of the banker on whom the cheques were drawn to the London agent
of the banker remitting them. Cheques were thus collected by
correspondence, and each remittance involved a separate payment in
London. Since 1858, accordingly, a country banker sends cheques on other
country banks to his London correspondent, who exchanges them at the
Clearing-House with the correspondents of the bankers on whom they are
drawn.

The Clearing-House consists of one long room, lighted from the roof.
Around the walls and down the centre are placed desks, allotted to the
various banks, according to the amount of their business. The desks are
arranged alphabetically, so that the clerks may lose no time in passing
round the room and delivering their "charges" or batches of cheques to
the representatives of the various banks. There are three clearings in
London each day. The first is at 10.30 A.M., the second at noon, and the
third at 2.30 P.M. It is the busiest of all, and continues until five
minutes past four, when the last delivery must be made. The three
clearings were, in 1907, divided into town, metropolitan and country
clearings, each with a definite area. All the clearing banks have their
cheques marked with the letters "T," "M" and "C," according to the
district in which the issuing bank is situated. Every cheque issued by
the clearing banks, even though drawn in the head office of a bank, goes
through the Clearing-House.