In time the precautions taken may attract gold and raise the reserve to the needful amount, but in the interim the evils may happen against which the rule was devised, diffused apprehension may arise, and then any unlucky accident may cause many calamities.
I may be asked, 'What does all this reasoning in practice come to?
At the present moment how much reserve do you say the Bank of England should keep?
state your recommendation clearly (I know it will be said) if you wish to have it attended to.' And I will answer the question plainly, though in so doing there is a great risk that the principles I advocate may be in some degree injured through some mistake I may make in applying them.
I should say that at the present time the mind of the monetary world would become feverish and fearful if the reserve in the Banking department of the Bank of England went below 10,000,000 L.Estimated by the idea of old times, by the idea even of ten years ago, that sum, I know, sounds extremely large.

My own nerves were educated to smaller figures, because I was trained in times when the demands on us were less, when neither was so much reserve wanted nor did the public expect so much.

But I judge from such observations as I can make of the present state of men's minds, that in fact, and whether justifiably or not, the important and intelligent part of the public which watches the Bank reserve becomes anxious and dissatisfied if that reserve falls below 10,000,000 L.That sum, therefore, I call the 'apprehension minimum' for the present times.

Circumstances may change and may make it less or more, but according to the most careful estimate I can make, that is what I should call it now.
It will be said that this estimate is arbitrary and these figures are conjectures.

I reply that I only submit them for the judgment of others.