Such a Deputy-Governor would not be at all a ‘king’ in the City.  There would be no mischievous prestige about the office; there would be no attraction in it for a vain man; and there would be nothing to make it an object of a violent canvass or of unscrupulous electioneering.  The office would be essentially subordinate in its character, just like the permanent secretary in a political office.  The pay should be high, for good ability is wanted—­but no pay would attract the most dangerous class of people.  The very influential, but not very wise, City dignitary who would be so very dangerous is usually very opulent; he would hardly have such influence he were not opulent:  what he wants is not money, but ‘position.’  A Governorship of the Bank of England he would take almost without salary; perhaps he would even pay to get it:  but a minor office of essential subordination would not attract him at all.  We may augment the pay enough to get a good man, without fearing that by such pay we may temptas by social privilege we should temptexactly the sort of man we do not want.

Undoubtedly such a permanent official should be a trained banker.  There is a cardinal difference between banking and other kinds of commerce; you can afford to run much less risk in banking than in commerce, and you must take much greater precautions.  In common business, the trader can add to the cost price of the goods he sells a large mercantile profit, say 10 to 15 per cent; but the banker has to be content with the interest of money, which in England is not so much as per cent upon the average.  The business of a banker therefore cannot bear so many bad debts as that of a merchant, and he must be much more cautious to whom he gives credit.  Real money is a commodity much more coveted than common goods:  for one deceit which is attempted on a manufacturer or a merchant, twenty or more are attempted on a banker.  And besides, a banker, dealing with the money of others, and money payable on demand, must be always, as it were, looking behind him and seeing that he has reserve enough in store if payment should be asked for, which a merchant dealing mostly with his own capital need not think of.  Adventure is the life of commerce, but caution, I had almost said timidity, is the life of banking; and I cannot imagine that the long series of great errors made by the Bank of England in the management of its reserve till after 1857, would have been possible if the merchants in the Bank court had not erroneously taken the same view of the Bank’s business that they must properly take of their own mercantile business.  The Bank directors have almost always been too cheerful as to the Bank’s business, and too little disposed to take alarm.  What we want to introduce into the Bank court is a wise apprehensiveness, and this every trained banker is taught by the habits of his trade, and the atmosphere of his life.