1936 On the Continent

has nothing to do with Stock Exchange business. Since 1720 it has been the head office of an insurance company. The Stock Exchange itself is hemmed in by blocks of offices and courts, so that the visitor would not notice it. Its present home is totally inadequate, and a new building will probably be erected on a site already secured by the Stock Exchange Company.
    The London Stock Exchange originated in a coffee house, like Lloyd’s, the world-famous insurance concern, which was given a new home in 1928 in LeadenhallStreet. However, members of Lloyd’s and insurance agents still learn about a shipping disaster by the tolling of the bell of the “Lutania,” a ship that was wrecked in the distant past.
The Big Five
    In the enormous hall at Lloyd’s insurances relating to property in all parts of the world are offered to the underwriters and underwritten by them. There are countless anecdotes illustrating the varied nature of the insurance business that can be transacted at Lloyd’s, and there is an almost proverbial saying that “You can insure anything at Lloyd’s.”
    “Baltic Exchange” is another misleading name. It is the designation of the great commodity exchange in St. Mary Axe, and has no more to do with the Baltic Sea than with any other.
    Crowded into a small area in the vicinity of the Stock Exchange and the Bank of England are the head offices of the most important English banks, and the London branches of foreign banks. Naturally, the head offices of the “Big Five,” the five leading English Banks—Midland Bank, Barclays, Lloyds, Westminster, National Provincial—are also here. The paid-up share capital of these banks varies between £9 and
£
16 millions, with a reserve capital of approximately equal amount. The deposits held by any of the “Big Five” exceeds those of even the biggest American banks. For instance, the Midland Bank, which has 2136 branches, holds deposits, amounting to nearly £500 millions, whereas the National City Bank of New York, which is the leading American bank, only holds £350 millions.
The Mansion House and Guildhall
    This area also contains, in addition to many old private banks which have been in the same family for centuries, banks with such exotic names as the Bank of Taiwan, Bank of Baroda, Banco di Chile, Bank of Nova Scotia, and many others. The presence of all these banks in London clearly shows that the City of London is indeed the financial centre of the world.
    The Lord Mayor “rules” this realm from the Mansion House and the Guildhall.
    The former, which is the Lord Mayor’s official residence, is opposite the Bank of England, and was built in the classic style in 1740. The most interesting part of the Mansion House is the gorgeous Egyptian Hall, where the sumptuous banquets take place. The ballroom impresses mainly by its vastness.
    The Guildhall, former headquarters of the City Guilds, is by far the more interesting of the two buildings, although it has shared the fate of most of London’s historical buildings, being damaged by fires and other disasters, so that little of the original 15th century building remains. Nevertheless, the Guildhall is a very mine of information concerning both the past and the present of London. The Guildhall Library was founded in the 15th century, and contains, among others, a number of first editions of Shakespeare, as well as the oldest maps of London. In its Picture Gallery there are too many pictures by forgotten academic painters, but the historical pictures are still worth seeing. In particular, the pictures of Old London are unique in their perfection.
    The watch collection, housed in a small room, is worth visiting.
    The Banquet Hall also has an impressive historical note, and provides a worthy background to the great ceremonial events of the City of London. It is here that the election of the Lord Mayor takes place, and it is also here that the Lord Mayor’s Banquet takes place, when the most prominent people in the public life of England, sometimes including Royal Princes are entertained by the Lord Mayor to a traditional dinner, which is eaten from gold plate.
The East End
    The reader may be disappointed to find that we are dealing with the East End, and the once notorious Whitechapel in a few lines only, but, then, Whitechapel is no longer a mysterious district associated with the “romance” of crime, but simply a poor district. Perhaps the most surprising thing about it is the fact that it is so