Many of us will be loth to say good-bye to
those " temporary gentlemen," the Treasury notes, who have served their country well and with.a plain unassuming dignity. This regret seems indeed to be shared in official quarters,_ for the banks have received instructions to continue,. for the time being, to issue the £1 and 10s.
notes that we know, withdrawing only those that are obviously unfit for further active service. The new notes retain very few characteristics of the Government issue, for the Bank of England is jealous of its indepen- dence. Thus, to begin with, the design of the Houses of Parliament, which somehow imparted a homeliness and distinctive warmth to the " Bradbury," has been replaced by a drawing of the Bank's main front so microscopic as to be lacking in character.