complied with a similar request from his successor, thus evincing their disposition towards a certain set of ministers. But the fact was, that these directors were become so powerful under the existing system, that they were enabled to overturn any ministers whom the Regent might appoint, and towards whom they felt hostility. The existence of such an extraordinary power he conceived dangerous to the constitution, and therefore he deprecated its existence. The right hon. gentleman concluded with forcibly exhorting the House to appoint a committee, in order to consider the means of putting an end to such an unnatural state of things. Mr. Huskisson declared his adherence to the opinions which he had expressed on a former occasion, with regard to the theory of money, and the depreciation of our currency: but as to the practical question before the House, it appeared to be simply this, Whether the restriction should be continued for fifteen months? which he could not by any means deem an unreasonable proposition. It would be recollected, that in 1811 it was not thought sistent with the public interest, and furnished the strongest reason for restoring our currency to its natural state. Of this he was the more persuaded, because he had no doubt that the facility with which the minister could obtain advances from the Bank, served to encourage a much greater degree of expense than would otherwise take place. Indeed, if it were not for such advances, he was convinced that the minister would be obliged to resort to that House with such a frightful picture of our finances as the country had never witnessed, and such as he believed very few imagined to exist. But such advances would not have been made, if they were not attended with profit to the lenders; and he apprehended that the worthy directors would, upon inquiry, be found to derive a degree of profit from these transactions that was materially injurious to the public service. He was therefore anxious for inquiry, in the hope of preventing the continuance of such an evil, and also with a view to ascertain the state of the Bank, which had never yet been made known; for it was notorious, that upon the inquiry which took place seven-practicable to put an end to the restriction teen years ago, the proportion of cash possessed by the Bank, compared to the notes it had in circulation, was never ascertained. The grounds upon which the restriction was enacted were well known; but the point which he had stated was totally unknown, not only at the time that the restriction was enacted, but even at this day. The House had, in fact, no notion of the circumstances under which that great public, and universally admitted evil, the restriction, would be removed. In 1811 it was proposed to remove the restriction in two years, but that proposition was negatived. It was not, however, too much to expect that the Bank should transact business as it would have done had no restriction taken place; but even this reasonable requisition was resisted, especially by the Bank directors, who truly professed so much desire to be relieved from the restriction. It appeared to him the paramount duty of the House to ask the reason of such conduct, and to institute an inquiry, with a view to regulate the future conduct of the Bank, if it were not found expedient to remove the restriction. He had said, that the Bank was the master of the minister, and its partialities were notorious; for although the directors refused to lord Henry Petty an advance of three millions without interest, they readily within less than two years, and he could not therefore consider the present measure as improper, especially after a fair view of the state of the country, and after the declaration which the House bad heard from his right hon. friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. When a responsible minister of the Crown stated his sanguine expectation, that within the period mentioned in the Bill it would not be inconvenient for the Bank to resume its cash payments, he could not help thinking that statement entitled to attention, and that it served to render the proposed committee unnecessary. Indeed, he should oppose such a committee, because he thought its appointment would serve to impede the object for which that statement encouraged us to hope. For himself, he declared, that bearing this statement in mind, and considering the improved prospects of the country, with the reduced price of bullion, he could not see why the restoration of our natural currency should not be looked for as an event likely to take place, much sooner than the right hon. gentleman who spoke last professed to contemplate. With regard to a vote which he had formerly given, in 1811, for the resumption of cash payments in two years, he would not disguise the satisfaction he now felt, that that vote was over-ruled by the House; because if it had not, it would have been impossible for this country to have made those great efforts which had happily produced such glorious results. Nor was there any inconsistency between his past and present conduct; for no human foresight could, by any possibility, have anticipated those results. Had the struggle been of longer continuance, greater and more serious difficulties must have followed, from protracting the restriction to an indefinite period, than he was willing to state. With regard to what had fallen from the right hon. gentleman who spoke last, in his attack upon the Bank, for acting in its dealings with Government from motives of partiality and preference, he considered him to have totally failed in making out his case. It had been argued by another hon. member, that upon any future war, they were to expect a renewal of the restrictions; but he, for one, should deprecate any such measure; for, in his opinion, nothing but such a war, and such a singular concurrence of circumstances as produced the restriction of 1797, could warrant the Bank in applying for, or the Government in consenting to, a renewal of that restriction. There was no safety for the public credit of the country, but in the resumption and continuance of cash payments. With regard to the motion for an inquiry, as no benefit could result from it, he should certainly oppose it. Mr. Baring, in rising to deliver his opinion upon the question, was anxious to guard himself from being considered as delivering the collective opinion of those who were in the direction of the Bank. What he had to offer would certainly be his own individual opinion, because he had not sat in the court of directors for the last twelve months; and if he had, it was not likely that he, or any other person, would be deputed to convey their collective sentiments. He was anxious, however, to defend the Bank from some charges which had been made against it; and first, as to the charge of partiality in its transactions with Government. The Bank certainly had, under peculiar circumstances, declined advancing the loan to lord Henry Petty, which, under other circumstances, they had advanced to his successor; but in so doing it had acted upon the principle of a fair defence of its own interests, and from no motives of political partiality. Neither was it the fact, as had been stated, that the Bank was anxious to enlarge its discounts, and invited bankers to become discounters. Оп the contrary, the general practice of the Bank, instead of inviting, was to ward off too much facility in discounting. Then, as to the general charge, that the Bank looked exclusively to its own interests:-It was certainly the duty of the directors to watch over the interests of the proprietors; but he, for one, and he be lieved he could say as much for his brethren in the direction, would never act with a total disregard of the public interests, as necessarily affected by the state of the currency. In fact, those who con ducted the affairs of the Bank would essentially injure their own interests if they acted otherwise. The right hon. gentleman who spoke last had expressed his confidence, that his right hon. friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in fixing a definite period when the cash payments would be resumed, had determined upon that period from some communication with the governor or directors of the Bank. He (Mr. Baring) certainly could not know what communication might have passed between the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Bank; but he was quite sure there was no information which a director, merely as a director, could give, which might not be obtained from many other individuals. If he, for example, were asked by the right hon. gentleman, at what period it was probable cash payments might be resumed, he should certainly, like a Quaker, answer the question by another question, and inquire in return what foreign payments the right hon. gentleman had yet to make, or engagements to fulfil? Upon the matter itself, he much doubted whether the right hon., gentleman had any authority from the Bank in what he had stated, [Hear, hear!] though certainly he was not aware that he had not. A right hon. friend of his (Mr. Tierney) had expressed a wish to hear the opinions of some of the Bank directors; and he assuredly had no objection to state his own, guarding himself as before, that in what he said he delivered only his own opinion. He firmly believed, that there was no more chance of resuming the cash payments in July twelvemonth, than there was of resuming them to-morrow. [Hear, hear!] He would briefly state the grounds of that opinion. The Chancellor of the Exchequer had argued, from the vast anxiety for any man's opinion upon a foreign expenditure which this country had sustained, that there was a great capacity for it, which when that expenditure ceased, would be applicable to the resumption of cash payments. The theory was certainly plausible; but the right hon, gentleman seemed to forget, that when the country possessed that capacity, it also possessed the monopoly of nearly all the trade of the world; whereas now 41. 5s. had risen to 4. 9s. It was in vain every country was carrying on its own to say, that the Bank directors did not trade. It always appeared to him, that make money by their advances and issues: the great effort for restoring the currency it was not only their object, but their duty: should be made immediately after peace, they were the trustees of the corporation, when our warehouses were full and the and they must do all they could to increase continent quite bare of merchandize. His the profits of the concern. It had been great doubt, however, of being able to said, that to institute the proposed inquiry restore a sound currency, arose from the would have the effect of making it known, artificial state in which we were, and the that the Bank company wanted to buy impossibility of going on without an arti- gold, and the consequence would be, that ficial currency to meet that state. If the every one who had it to sell would raise high prices and high taxes continued, those his price. He was of opinion that in this high prices and high taxes could never be respect the inquiry could make no differpaid in guineas, but must be paid in paper. ence, as five pounds worth of gold could The only evil of Bank notes, in his opinion, not at present be purchased for the Bank had been their gradual extension from without its being known who was the puryear to year. At the time of the Restric- chaser. Though the Chancellor of the tion they were not more than eight mil- Exchequer had said he thought cash-paylions, afterwards they got to eleven mil-ments might be resumed on the 5th of July lions; and the general average now existing was between 25 and 27 millions. As long as there was any thing artificial in the country, there must be an artificial currency to compete with it. He was convinced that the right hon. gentleman would be unable to manage his affairs, from the moment the Bank drew in their issues, in order to make up these cash-payments: this would pull a string that would affect every country bank in the kingdom, by necessarily calling on them to take up their notes; and general stagnation and ruin would be the immediate consequence. He should vote against the motion, from the conviction that any inquiry of the nature proposed, would only still further impede the object that was desired, by leading to injurious exposure. Yet he would do every thing in his power to promote return to cash-payments; being convinced that there could be no permanent security for this country till its circulating medium was restored to its original state. He could assure the House, that it had ever been the wish of the Bank to do their duty to the country. Mr. Ponsonby was sorry he did not see the hon. gentleman who presided over the concerns of the Bank, in his place at that moment, as he never looked with more $ next year, one of the Bank directors had given it as his opinion that this could not be done in less than five years. To which of these statements ought the House to pay most attention? He, as every man who heard him must do, wished to see the Bank flourish, and was actuated by no hostility against the company; but still he could never bring himself to say that he thought they were not interested in the continuance of the present fictitious currency. The opinions of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and a Bank director, which had been expressed in that debate, were, as he had shewn, in direct opposition to each other: he hoped the House would put itself in a situation to form an opinion of its own. Feeling, as he did, that the financial and commercial state of the country would never be healthy until the return of a legitimate metallic currency, he must support the motion of his noble friend; the tendency of which, he trusted, would be to incite the Bank to every possible exertion for the acceleration of that desirable object. Mr. J. H. Smyth supported the motion; contending, that the sanguine hope expressed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was an insufficient reason for refusing to refer the subject to a committee. Mr. William Smith also supported the motion. He contended, that the silence of the governor of the Bank afforded ample proof that he did not coincide in the opinion of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, as to the probability of a speedy resumption of payments in specie. In his opinion, all the governments which had succeeded each other in this country had neglected their duty in not imposing a restriction on the profits of the Bank of England. Those profits had been immense, in consequence of the restriction, and it was impossible not to believe that the long continuance of the restriction was in some measure attributable to the advantages derived from it. He recollected that on the morning when the payments in cash had ceased at the Bank, he called on Mr. Fox, to acquaint him with the circumstance. Mr. Fox was already apprised of it. "There is one comfort, however," said he (Mr Smith)," it cannot last long." "Not last long!" replied Mr. Fox, "I do not know what you may do; but I shall never live to see the Bank pay in money again." That great man's prophecy had been fulfilled in his case, and he feared it might with truth have been extended to his own. It appeared to him, that without a committee to investigate the subject, and lay down some principles on which the House might hereafter act, the object which they had in view could never be accomplished, and he should therefore vote for the motion. Mr. B. Shaw contended, that although the Bank had benefited by the restriction, they had materially benefited the country in return; and had enabled it to wade through its difficulties, at a period of great danger and distress. What was called an artificial currency, had become so much a part of our financial and commercial constitution, that it was impossible to think of putting a sudden stop to it. The change, to be unattended with mischief, must be one of a gradual nature. former, revolutionary France threatened to overwhelm the world, our allies had been subdued, our finances were in a state the most precarious. Now, we had seen our allies victorious, we had seen the French revolution terminated, and a truly free and happy constitution established in France; we had seen a peace concluded which be trusted would prove as permanent as profound. He justified the silence of his hon. friend the governor of the Bank, and expressed a hope that the predictions which had been hazarded that night would not be fulfilled; a hope founded on the recollection of those by which they had been preceded. The fears expressed on account of the high price of labour, and the assertion that the ruin of our manufac tures must follow, were bugbears which had been used to frighten the people of this country, not merely from year to year, but from generation to generation. To be satisfied of this, gentlemen need only refer to what had been written on this subject at the beginning of the last century, and they would find these topics had been quite as eloquently pressed on the consideration of the public then, as they were now in our day. Referring to the apprehension expressed by an hon. gentleman, that he should not see the Bank resume its payments in cash, he stated it to be his hope, that he would live many years after the restriction had ceased; and he did not hesitate to repeat it as his sanguine belief, that that event would take place at the period which he proposed to name in the committee, when the present motion was disposed of. Mr. Grenfell said, he intended to vote for the motion; and if the inquiry proposed were not granted, when the Bill came into the committee, he would move to add to the clause for limiting the Bank restrictions to July, 1816, the words which were used with respect to the property tax," and no longer." Lord A. Hamilton replied at some length, after which strangers were ordered to withdraw, and the gallery was cleared. forth. The Chancellor of the Exchequer begged the indulgence of the House for a few minutes. He denied that the restriction Mr. Ponsonby, whilst in the lobby, adon the Bank had been imposed as the dressed the members who had gone means of giving energy to the country. He requested them not to retire when the No ministry could ever be so mad or pre- division was over, as Mr. Grenfell prosumptuous as to propose it on such a posed to add as an amendment to the ground. It took place under circum-clause limiting the Bank restriction to stances which it was to be hoped would never recur. Between the period at which it occurred and the present there was certainly a glorious contrast. At the (VOL. XXIX.) July, 1816, the words " and no longer." These words were well thought of, and when these were pressed on the House, it would be seen what confidence the Chan(4 H) Lewis, F. Lyttleton, hon. W. Martin, J. Tierney, rt. hon. G. Whitbread, S. Wynn, sir W. W. TELLERS. Hamilton, lord A. Horner, F. Mr. C. Wynn, and Sir R. Ferguson, BANK RESTRICTION BILL.] Immediately after the above division, the House went into a committee for continuing an Act of the 44th of his Majesty, to continue the restrictions on payments of cash by the Bank of England. The Chancellor having moved, that the said restrictions should continue to the 5th of July, 1816, Mr. Grenfell proposed his amendment, that the words" and no longer," be added thereto. The Chancellor of the Exchequer objected to the amendment, upon the ground that it would seem to limit the discretion of the House. Mr. Horner inferred, and was sure the House would infer, from the silence of the governor of the Bank of England, that he looked to the event of the resumption of cash payments with any thing but hope and satisfaction. Mr. Tierney thought the words of the amendment would shew that they were more in earnest than was usual on such subjects. If a case could be made out to justify the adoption of the measure afterwards, it would be competent to the right hon. gentleman to move it. Mr. Ponsonby called upon the House to notice the coincidence, in the silence of Mr. Baring did not think that payments could then be resumed with any safety; and that the insertion of these words might have the effect of inducing some conscientious persons to make greater exertions than would otherwise be consistent with their duty. The House dividedFor the Amendment Against it........ .............. 35 ...... 92 Majority for the original motion -57 The Bill then passed through the committee. HOUSE OF LORDS. Friday, March 3. CORN LAWS.] Earl Stanhope said, he held in his hands three petitions, each of them numerously and respectably signed, against the intended new regulations relat ing to corn and grain. Two of these petitions were from Spital-fields, and one of them was signed by about 6,000 persons. He took that opportunity of calling their lordships attention to a charge, that had been made against him last night; he having been represented as wishing to reduce the taxes in a way which would sacrifice the interests and rights of the public creditor, and deprive the nation of a proper peace establishment. Having been thus grossly misrepresented, he thought it due to himself, and to the cause of justice, to call their lordships attention to the true state of the case. He had last year proposed for their lordships consideration, a resolution, which now stood on their Journals, and was to this effect: that the agricultural classes ought to be relieved from direct taxation, as far as that could be done consistently with the keeping inviolable faith with the public creditor, and the preservation of a proper and adequate peace establishment. Would any one in that House again accuse him of a wish to defraud the public creditor, or to prevent the support of an adequate peace establishment? He was persuaded that no person, after reading that resolution, could come forward with such an ac cusation. |