"Then, on reflection, it appeared to another young man, the son and grandson of clearing bankers, that the organization of a large and entirely new establishment, which the country bankers proposed, was unnecessary, as the London bankers could give them all the facilities they required, without any great additional labor, or expense. This junior officer in the private bank of which his father was the head, has since gained world-wide celebrity in science and literature as Sir John Lubbock (now Lord Avebury). Even with the aid of such talent and opportunities as his, it required unflinching resolution to establish country clearing in London. After devising a method that conformed as closely as practicable to actual usage in clearing city banks, young Lubbock had to call at every London bank, at most of them several times, and explain fully the exact manner in which he proposed to carry out the system. It was very difficult for him to convince his brother bankers. Finally the special committee requested him to meet the principal clerks of the different banks. These clerks unanimously recommended the adoption of his plan.
"The London bankers then adopted it, and on Nov. 16th submitted it to their country correspondents. The plan for an independent country Clearing House was abandoned by the country Bankers' Committee on Nov. 19th, and the clearing of country checks commenced in London on Nov. 23, 1858. In less than eight weeks, after the idea was broached in London, it was put in practice there."
Mr. Hallock says, "Sedalia bankers unconsciously imitated the London plan, but modified it, as had been done abroad elsewhere; for out-of-town checks are cleared, not only in London, but also in other English cities, as Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Leeds, Sheffield and Bradford, in some eight Scotch towns and Dublin."
The next advance, which is undoubtedly destined to revolutionize clearing in the United States, was started in Boston in 1899 by making New England a free check zone.
Hallock says: "The clearing of out-of-town checks, though opposed for years by a small minority of Boston banks, was successfully established at Boston in 1899. The system includes checks on all points in New England, and maintains a free zone of nearly equal extent.