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Show ANCIENT BANKING HOUSES. When tbo Oldoet Uuki of Europe TV ere Established Their History. Europe is filled with business, and particularly with financial establishments, establish-ments, which have weathered tbe storms of more than a century and which promise to go on without accident acci-dent until their conductors and owners are ready to liquidate. The Euglish and French tradesmen are especially fond of nutting upon their signs dates which snow that several sev-eral generations have carried on the business at the old stand. Even the modest restaurant-keeper in London delights to tell you that you nre dining in the same room where Dr. Johnson used to discuss and where "Noll" Goldsmith drank whisky punches when ho had any money. Banks in Europe have always been honored in exact proportion to the duration of their existence. One of the longest-lived banks in history was also the (irst institution founded iu Europe. It was the Bank of Venice, which was founded in 1171, originally organized to support the costly wars which Venice was censtautly carrying on. For long centuries, until 1797, when the Venetian Rcpublip was overthrown, this bank remained the symbol ot tiuancial integrity and solidity. The Bank of Geuoa, founded In 1407, lasted until the first year of the present century. The Bauk of Barcelona, Barce-lona, in Spain, is still in operation after 400 years of business. Few people peo-ple know that it was iu this bank that the system of negotiation of bills of exchango originated. Amsterdam's principal bank, founded in 1C09, lasted until the French ruined it when they invaded Holland in 1794. because tho directors had lent Holland a large sum of money. The Bank of Hamburg is still alive and flourishing, although it was founded found-ed before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Ply-mouth Rook. There nro .numerous banks in Holland, Germany and Sweden Swe-den which date from the seventeenth century. The vigorous "old lady" of Thread-needle Thread-needle street, the Bank of England, has been going since the days of William Wil-liam and Mary (1694), aud owes its origin to the difficulty the government experienced in raising funds to conduct its war with France. The Banque do France, which had the honor of lending lend-ing money to the "old lady" during the panic the other day, dates from 1714, and its present charter extends to 1897. . Its governor is appointed by the general government. After the Bank of England, the oldest old-est public banks iu Great Britain are the Bank of Scotland (1695) and the Bank of Newcastle-on-Tyne (1755). Tho Royal Bank of Prussia has flourished for 135 years. Private banking houses of worldwide world-wide celebrity are comparatively young when placed side by'side with the state institutions. The Rothschilds Roths-childs may be said practically, to date from 1806, wheu the Elector William, after the invasion of his states by tho French, deposited about $6,000,000 for safe keeping with Mayer Anselm Rothschild iu Frankfort. This house, which spread to Frankfort, Vienna, Loudon. Naples and Paris, and whose heads became barons, was comparatively compara-tively obscure before the end of the last century. The Barings weat to England from Bremen in the first part of the eighteenth century. Many of the old private banks, especially in England, have been merged in joint stock companies. Some of the oldest English banks have uuclaimod deposits belonging to dead and gone people amounting to hundreds of thousands of pounds. One institution in London has 700.000 of these deposits on its books, and some say this must finally be declared clear profit. Many shipping firms in England and Holland have had an unbrokeu existence exist-ence of two centuries, and in France some colonial aud foreign merchants boast of a much greater age for their establishments. Houses founded in 1650, 1680 and 1700 abound in Paris, Bordeaux, Marseilles, and in Italy and Spain. A common business rule in Europe is that if a house can outlast ten Years there is no reason why it should not endure ten centuries. But governmental operations and people re more conservative aud cautious in Europe than iu America. |
