, are preferred to specie. This is accumulated in the
vaults of the Bank of France, which in 1906 held on average L115,000,000
gold and L42,000,000 silver. The gold held by the Bank of France is
generally considerably larger in amount than that held by the Bank of
England, which in the autumn of 1890 had to borrow L3,000,000 in gold from
the Bank of France at the time of the Baring crisis. The large specie
reserve of the bank has given stability to the trade of France, and has
enabled the bank to manage its business without the numerous fluctuations
in the rate of discount which are constantly occurring in England. It is
true that the holding this very large amount of specie imposes a very heavy
burden on the shoulders of the shareholders of the bank, but they do not
complain. The advantage to business from the low rate of interest which has
to be paid for the use of borrowed capital in France is a great advantage
to the trade and industry of that country.

The mass of the reserve in France is so great that the movements of the
precious metals, when they are the result only of natural causes, are
allowed to go on without corresponding movements in the discount rate. But
it must be remembered that this large reserve is held in part against a
gigantic note issue, and also that the trade activity and enterprise of the
French people are less intense than in either the United Kingdom or
Germany; thus it is much easier for the Bank of France to maintain a steady
rate of discount.

Besides the Bank of France, several great credit institutions carry on
business in the country; as the _Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas_ (capital
and reserve, L3,729,000; other liabilities, deposits, &c., L14,842,000),
the _Banque Francaise pour le Commerce et l'Industrie_ (L2,450,000; and
L3,505,000), the _Credit Lyonnais_ (L14,000,000; and L82,570,000), the
_Comptoir National d'Escompte de Paris_ (L6,772,000; and L47,593,000), the
_Societe Generale pour favoriser le developpement du Commerce et de
l'Industrie en France_ (L7,469,000; and L45,800,000), and the _Societe
Generale de Credit Industriel et Commercial_ (L1,600,000; and L10,060,000).

There is also the _Credit Foncier de France_ with a very considerable
capital, but the business done is so largely that of mortgages that it can
hardly be included among banks, though it carries on in some measure the
business of banking.

Besides the six important joint-stock banks mentioned above, there e