lways on account
of the conveyance of parcel-post traffic, and through its lost luggage
department many thousands of articles left in railway carriages are
every year returned to their owners. Its situation in London further
renders it a convenient meeting-place for several "Clearing-House
Conferences" of railway officials, as of the general managers, the goods
managers, and the superintendents of the line, held four times a year
for the consideration of questions in which all the companies are
interested. The Irish Railway Clearing-House, established in 1848, has
its headquarters in Dublin, and was incorporated by act of parliament in
1860.

_General_.--The principle of clearing adopted by banks and railways has
been applied with considerable success in other businesses.

In 1874 the London Stock Exchange Clearing-House was established for the
purpose of settling transactions in stock, the clearing being effected
by balance-sheets and tickets; the balance of stock to be received or
delivered is shown on a balance-sheet sent in by each member, and the
items are then cancelled against one another and tickets issued for the
balances outstanding. The New York Stock Exchange Clearing-House was
established in 1892. The settlements on the Paris Bourse are cleared
within the Bourse itself, through the Compagnie des Agents de Change de
Paris.

In 1888 a society was formed in London called the Beetroot Sugar
Association for clearing bargains in beetroot sugar. For every 500 bags
of sugar of a definite weight which a broker sells, he issues a
_filiere_ (a form something like a dock-warrant), giving particulars as
to the ship, the warehouse, trade-marks, &c. The filiere contains also a
series of transfer forms which are filled up and signed by each
successive holder, so transferring the property to a new purchaser. The
new purchaser also fills up a coupon attached to the transfer, quoting
the date and hour of sale. This coupon is detached by the seller and
retained by him as evidence to determine any liability through
subsequent delay in the delivery of the sugar. Any purchaser requiring
delivery of the sugar forwards the filiere to the clearing-house, and
the officials then send on his name to the first seller who tenders him
the warrant direct. These filieres pass from hand to hand within a limit
of six days, a stamp being affixed on each transfer as a clearing-house
fee. The difference between each of the successive transact