Star. — London, England, 1819-01-27 00:00:00

I 4 , ) R r ~' .~ x 4+ ;t 3 ~~ i i the tremendous power of issuing an inconvertible, and therefore a forced paper currency, for their own sole and exclusive benefit. This currency cost the Bank nothing but the price of the paper, and the ex pense of clerks employed in fabricating it. Indeed there was one other expense which ought not to be overlooked—he meant that of carrying on the pro- ACCUtiOTIS against the numerous and wretched victims of this. system, with whom the jails ,of the country were now crowded—(heat, hear) The other great source of the gains of this Ccrporation, and one not less productive, was the exorbitant rates exacted for the management of the public business—exactions for the allowance of which no Administration had mote to answer for than that of the present Chan cellor of the Exchequer. These were assertions which he had tepeatedly made in the last Parliament, and which, he would take leave to apprise the present, had been met by the Bank, sometimes with evasion, sometimes in silence, but never ,rich disproof. They were founded on documents which had been laid before the House, and the authenticity of which could not be contr overted. He should conclude by moving for a variety of retnrns, and in the first place for " An account of the total weekly amount of Bank Notes and Bank Post Bills in circulation, from the Ist of January, 1818, to the 25th o' January, 1819 ; distinguishing those under £5, and chewing the ag gregate amount for the entire period." the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER observed, that he had on a former evening intimated that it was not his intention to object to the produc tion of the accounts for which the Honourable Gen tleman WAS moving. The information which they contained might be usefully laid before the House as preparatory to the discussion which was to take place. With regard to the Ilononrable Gentleinan's comments, and the justness of the inferences which he drew, a better opportunity would soon present it self for the consideration of them. Another impor tant paper—the Report of the. Commissioners for in quiring into the means of preventing the forgerrof' Bank notes—had been already laid upon the table. Mr. GRENFELL then moved for an Account of the amount of Bank Notes in circulation on the 7th and 12th days of each month, for the year 1818 ; distinguishing and specifying them, as in the preced ing return: also' for the highest and lowest amount in circulation at any one time, specifying the dates: ' also of the amount on the Saturday night of each week : of the market prices of standard gold and silver in bars, and of the rates of eschance with liamburgh, Lisbon, and Paris : also of the balance of cash in the hands of the Bank belonging to the different Pnblic Departments, on the 1t and 15th of etch month to die 15th of December, 1818: also of "..e amount of unclaimed Dividends and Lottery profits at the same periods also of .the amount of Exchequer Bills received as cash : also of the allow anc;:s made to the Bank by the Public for manage : also of Sovereigns and Half-sovereigns issued by the Bank, up to the late;t period that it could be made out : and lastly, of the total amount of Gold and Silver Coin issued from the Mint during the year IblB.—These Returns were all successively ordtred to be produced. GAME, LAWS. Mr. BRAND moved that tl►ere be laid before the .llouse an accemr. of the persons under confinement in England and Wales, for offences against the Game distingoishing the persons committed under the 57th Geo. HI. and specifying the sentences to which each pet•son had been condemned. Mr. BECKET I thonght that sour: time would be requisite, as the returns could noi immediately be prepared. Mr. BRAND 'esplained.• He wished thst the names of the persons should be laid before the House, th•tt the effacts of the laws might be seem—Agreed to. VIOICE OF CORY. • Mr. CALLAGHAN, in allusion to the state ofthe Corn Trade, anti the operation of the Corn Laws, which he deecrilted as attended with the best conse quences, :ultras affording great encouragement and protection to the agricultural interests, said, that not withstanding those laws various irregularities and differences existed in the returns of the quantity of grain imported into various ports, and _he should therefore mt.ve for an accoont of ;he .rmount of wheat, barley, and Hour, imported into England and Ire• land for the year ending sth January, 1819 ; and also for an account of the quantity imported into the ma ritime counties in England and Wales for the same period. Mr. RODINSON should not attempt to follow the Honourable Member through the estimates and cal culations, in which he had endeavoured to prove that in many cases of the periodical returns, frequent re currence of errors had taken place. The best possi ble mode of taking averages of the markets had been duly considered and cautiously adopted and intro duc.td into the Corn Bill, previous to its enactment ; and he.belicred the present system would be found far less objectionable than any other, unless something materially better should be submitted by the Hon. 1S: ember or some other person, the present system must continue to be acted upon. The only case of error in a return with which he had become ac quainted, occurred in a return of average of oats from Glamorgan ; by accident the Inspector had, in that instance, although a person of twenty years ex perience in that line, neglected to reduce the custo mary measure of that part of the country to Win chester measure—{hour.) The effect, however, was not to be regretted, as it perhaps prevented the clo sing of our ports against oats. The consequences, however, were unavoidable, but it had been since then an object of still greater attention to prevent a recurrence of such a mistake, and the heads of this department had introduced a still more improved mode of taking these averages. In point of fact, he admitted there was, and perhaps ever would be, a vary considerable difference in the prices of oats in' different counties, and in Suffolk and Lincolnshire more especially, as compared with 'other counties, the price of oats was much lower than elsewhere.— He should not object to the Honourable Member's motion on this subject, and was gratified to find that it was not his intention to follow it hastily up by any further steps for the present. The returns were then ordered to be furnished for the use of the Horne also. A return of the average prices of wheat, barley, and beans, in the maritime districts, for a similar period ; also a return of the er rors in averages which had taken place during the same period, and what would have been the actual dif ference between such returns, audthe amount of ave rages, had they been fairly taken and corrected. 'SUPPLY. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER moved that the Order of the Day for the House going into a Committee of Supply should be theft read. Sir ROBERT WILSON rose and stated, that in this his first attempt to address a House replete with talent of every description, he felt it particularly ne cessary to call on the Horsy for that indulgence they had so liberally and frequently bestowed on others in his situation—(Hear' hear, hear.)—On the sub ject of the finances of the country, he should not pledge himself to treat it as an arithmetical question He confessed he was not a vet y great adept in poli tical economy; the elements he had endeavoured to attain ; but it was a study replete with intricacy. It however required little penetration or sagacity to dis cover that we could not go on for any length of time according to the present system of management, or, as he should rather term it, mismanagement of our finance. It was impossible to expect die people of this country could pay the yearly and unavoidable taxes of the year, as well as provide for the interest accruing yearly on an aggregate of debt amounting to 800 millions, a sum which had been aptly said to express a property which we once had, but which was ours no longer. To shew how this debt would operate upon the present and rising generation. I,c stated, be had estinlated that in the next thirty years there should necessarily be provided to meet our en gagements, and keep up the national faith, no less a 'tuna than 1300 millions ! and that out of this enor mous sum not one shilling could be spared towards the reduction of that debt. The Revenue, it was also to he observed, ail this time would b? pa suing through tlig sorbing strainers of the Goverament, and consequently would he so much diminishe J. Prom what was known of the history of France and other continental countries in the present day, the result of any relief from taxation had been a proportinrate increase in the comforts.— The state of the body politic in this country, instead of being aptly proportioned, vigorous, and capable of energetic exertion, resembled that of a human frame internally disordered, exhibiting, by its exces sive languor, swollen appearance, and heavy over grown limbs, the never-failing symptoms of the rapid approach of its dissolution. A crisis was near at hand which must involve both rich and poor in one common chaos of distress and ruin. Adam Smith had laid it down as a maxim, that no State could bt considered in .a prosperous situation in which the poorer classes could not procure the necessaries o(. life ; and he was satisfied, no man in his senses could. avoid coming to this painful conclusion, that in this country it was not possible for these classes to obtain the necessaries. Something had at times been said of the too great increase of population ; then again it had been argued, that by reclaiming lands hitherto waste, and the improvement of agriculture, the fruits of the earth had increased in a more than adequate proportion ; but he could tell those Right Hon. Gen tlemen who were accustomed on these and other oc casion.: to look at any favourite object through a financial telescope, tihich approximated to the Minis terial eye these desirable objects an resalts, that our distresses did not arise from, nor were they to be warded off by any such subordinate and compara tively indifferent circuinstances. HOw long had the country been deluded 'by the hope of returning to, cash payments? He certainly thought cash payments could never be resumed without a great sacrifice of property. But Goo forbid that he should take out of the hands of the Ministry, whose measures had in-' volved so dePply that property, the opportunity to redeem it! Nor should he voluntarily interfere to re lease them from their rash engagements with the pub lic, any more than he would volunteer to pay the debts mitt-acted by the speculations of a professed gambler. Were the Ministers to be indulged in this manner, there would be no end to their espeditions and their extravagance. There would be expeditions to South America to reinstate the bigotted Ferdinand, in de spite of his ill-treated subjects. Another to India, not certainly with any 'view to our aggrandizement, but me,ely to take possession of every thing or place between the Indian Islands and the Caspian Sea. No doubt an army of instruction to the French Ministers and M. De Cazes—(a laugh)—would be equipped to teach them that they hail no business to awake the French people from their lethargic dream of despo tism to a more rational system of Government. Ap prehending such consequences, he was not disposed to allow such Ministers an opportunity to remort gage the resources of the country. It had been by some imagined, that the military glory we had ac auired was an ample remuneration to the country for the profuse and lavish expenditure of so many millions. He considered military glory as a poor substitute for a flourishing state of finance and abun dant pecuniary resources. What nation had there yet existed, ever so barbarous, antecedently or subse quently, that could not boast at some period of its military glory ? The public mind and the public credit were veered when the people recollected upon what slight grounds their liberty had been lately in vaded by the Suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act ; when the people reflected on the present disgraceful state of our criminal code of laws. If the Admiralstration of the country were ever to be effectually curtailed of the power of doing mischief, it would bt by the Delegates of the People. insisting upon a He ' form in the State, upon the principles of that reform effected in 1688; it would be by extending the Elec tive Franchise, so as to produce' a salutary restraint on the too frequent nomination of Members to seats in that House by individuals. Such a Parliament, so constituted, might be denominated a full, fair, and ample Representation of the People ; and such a House of Commons, he had no doubt, would act upon a system of efficient economy and retrenchment. In this view of the subject he could not help congra tulating the country upon the probability of an early discussion of this important sub j ect, when the motion of an Honourable Friend of his should come before th e House. He should not vote against the Sapply proposed to be granted to his Majesty's Government, as he was not disposed to embarrass his Majesty's Government—(a laugh)—but should content him self with making these observations generally, on the state of the finances of the country. Lord GLERAWLEY reminded the Honourable Member, that he, in his review of the Financial state of the ctuntry, kad not taken into the credit side of the account the sums redeemed, or ta be hereafter t. -.--. 5..,. redeemed, by the operation of the Sinking Fund. It ' too often happened that those who drew melancholy and desponding pictures of the state of the country-, expected Ministers to do impossibilities. The prin , ciples of government, which were so strenuously en forced by the Honourable Knight, were so diame trically opposite to those supported by the Friends of Administittion, that they must remain hopeless of ever having him as a Parliamentary auxiliary. It was very evident that the Honourable Baronet him self had at once placed an insurmountable barrier to all their expectations, by attempting to impose such difficult tasks upon those in power. But how could the Honourable Baronet expect that Government, merely to keep him in good humour, could do all that he desired? The Honourable Member concluded by saying, " I merely rose, Mr. Speaker, to correct the errors of the Honourable Baronet!"—( Hear, hear). The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER wish , ing not to engross the attention of the House, moved that the House do now resolve itself into a Com- 1 mittee of Supply. The Motion being carried, the SPEAKER left the Chair ; when Mr. BROGDEN, as Chairman of the Committee, put the question as received from the Chancellor of the Exchequer—" That a Supply be granted to his Majesty."—Ordered. The House then resumed. _ _ Mr. BROGDEN moved, that the Report of the Committee be received to-morrow.—Ordered. DR HALLORAN AND T.HE CONVICT SNIPS. Sir BYAM MARTIN wished to correct an erro neons impression which had been produced by a state ment from an Honourable Gentleman opposite (Mr. Bennett) on presenting a Petition from Dr. Halloran. i lad he been in the House last night, from his situa tion in the Transport Board, he could at once have set the Honourable Gentleman right. The blame, if there was any, rested with the Transport Board, and not with the Secretary of State for the. Home De partment. On the 9th of this r:onth he had made a calculation of the number of convicts trnsported,l and the proportion that died on the voyage, and it was so satisfactory, that lie could not help commu nicating it to Lord Melville. Of 6,409 men sent out to Botany Bay, since the Ist of January, 1816, only'. 53 had died on the passage—( Hear, hear)—the deaths amounting only to one in 112. He thought from this it might safely be concluded that sufficient care was taken of the convicts when they were embarked. With respect to the crowded and unwholesome state which the vessels were said to be, he denied that this was the case. It had been said, that six people were crammed into a space of GI feet by 5f.. If that assertion had beech made, he denied the truth of , it. The number of persons was only four to this space. Thi space allowed to a convict was as great as that allowed to a British soldier, and greater than that allowed to a British sailor—(Hear, 404—The space allowed to a sailor was 14 inches. He had sons at sea, who received only this allowance of space, as he 'himself had been satisfied with it forty-five years ago--(llear, hear).—He now held in his hand Returns from the ships in which convicts had been embarked, with the number of deaths. In one, the number embarked were 200, deaths two.; in the Bariag, 200, no deaths ; Lord Melville, 109., three deaths; Shipley, 123, no deaths; Akeste, 180, no deaths, Lark, 250, two deaths; Lady Castlereiih. 1401, no deaths; Neptune,. 280„ no deaths; Basing, f 30:), one death. The vessel. th e Baring, was com manded by the same Officer who now commanded 'her, aid had the same surgeon, and he did not be : lieve it was poss'ble to 'treat men with greater h - u -j manity and kindness than they had shewn. A morel able and humane man did not exist, he believed, than the surgeon ; he was recommended by a most lau-' mane Officer; Sir Richard Keates—( Name kir,' )... The Gentleman's name was Reid—( Loud cheering-in the Horisejor some time.) • Mr. BENNET said, that as to the number of per sons, he had visited two ships, in one were 300 con victs, in another 447. In the Baring he found twenty, he might say twenty-one persons, crowded into the same room. He went'thenee below, and sat upon a box—he was much shucked with the scene—each crib was six feet by five and a half; be saw three laying in one of them, and asked how many lay there, he was told that six did. He called the other three, and they immediately presented themselves. He re presented to the master, with horror, the state of the convicts. His reply seas, " For Gop's s tke, Sit, don't go away with the impression that the convicts alone are crowded. Look into my cabin, look into the sol diers apartment, we are all equally crowded." (hear, hear, hear.) So far was he from denying it, that he only aggravated the representation made to him.— The Honourable Gentleman had compared the situa tion of convicts with that of soldiers. If soldiers were cruelly treated, that was no justification for cruel treatment to convicts—but of the soldiers one-third ' were on deck during the night,. This he knew from his own experience. But all the convicts were shut up during the night—(hear, hear.) But he pledged himself that any one of the Gentlemen opposite would be satisfied if he went down to see these convicts.— The Right Hon. Gentleman had said, that he bad as certained that Dr. Halloran had not been ill ; not ill! ' He bore on his countenance the proofs of his illness, too strong to be mistaken. He had, never seen a man so changed.. Such testimony was more likely to be true than the testimony relied on by the Right Hon. Gentleman. It should be recollected too, thut the Surrey, which carried 200 convicts, of whom 50 died, had sailed at this very season ; and that the rea son stated by the Board for this mortality was, the season of the year. .He cared not whether seamen or soldiers had as small a space assigned to them. Those disused to a sea life must find such confinement horrible beyond conception. The small, too, which he had not mentioned, was surely a terrible aggra vation. He could then re-assert, that it was a great act of cruelty to confine men. in. such a situation for a number of hours, at •night, and under the line.— ( Hear, hear, hear.) , —Even in the abhorred Slave Trade each slave 'had one foot and a half. Consi dering these facts, he was not surprised to find, by the trials he had seen reported in the 'Newspapers, ing,that c th h o o s s e e rather w re tche s , t o ier nfgehilitooguwths -creatures n a te o ffi m i o c p t th t i o t e n o r s e u o ff b n ec i d e.c t er t th t th e h pu rescue eti o nlol If histhebr bringing ngel4dshedinbyb aetvdeer e thankiad netof s t u o ff a e rt -. from suffering au unnecessary and cruel aggravation , of their , puhisbmezt.--(lfear, hear.)—GOD knew that I he Lai never proposed any other object for tion, than to diminish the sum of human ini wn . (Great and general cheering.) Sir B. MARTIN observed, that half a tos than was usually allowed to soldiers and sailori.. allowed to convicts, in the arrangements as too conveyance, in order that their accommodation k • be attended to, There were means of ventil.air,a: adopted ; and, with the permission of the begged leave to read an extract from one of ;: 1 .1, letters which had been received from Piotanv t. The extract went in effect to state, the griteril : kdowledgments of some of the convicts to th(i n c, tain for his unwearied assiduity to their conitO rtso . the peculiar concern which had been mardie.,:t.d • wards their health—(lfrar, hen) .1 The SPEAKER here row, and observed, d m rules of the Noose could not he too strictly auk ., to ; and that he only permitted an lion. Geralta, who held an official . situation, to enter sponth " tion, then irregularly before the House ; was of opinion the substantial ends of justice iv., be best consulted, by enabling him to give su c h formation as the nature of his situation qualiiv.d to offer, in explanation of some charges NVhich been preferred against the Bead of t h e H ome partment. But haring tolerated this, together Il i• a reply, the House would feel thlt he had gor e far as the ordinary usage allowed him. There then no inotiL , n before the House, and without ing to interpose any further in its proceedin:;s, would be for the House it.elf to decide what cez, it would adopt. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHECZCE then moved, that the House do now adj , iurn. The SPEAKER, rose to put the question of Ai journmcnt. Sir ISAAC COFFIN spoke in praise of tl - e't:;!, ment °fele convicts, and thought that his Hon. rim had been deceived in the account he had litartl. Fft. fir IL MAGUSSON wished to he informed, if Narti errs, r•?7en receiving a letter allowing tbern to F., abme, to pay a cart i^ f;:c? Sir J. I ebserred, that such 112,1 been the le- practice, and the money se received was regoirrly a. for, and went to the contingencies of the Sir GEORGE WARII ENDER expressed to ►ame purposer—Adjourned till toarormv.-. THE EVENING STAR LONDON. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 1819. THE FUNDS. PRICE OF STOCKS TIM DAY AT 0/11t cectrct: Bank Stock 274-3 per Cent. Reitice.l79/ 75 3 per Cent. Cuns. 78k10,—Cons. for Ac. 7975:79 Sk per Cent. 88}8z-1,--4 ..:er Cent. 97g, Np.) , 107i-if—Bank Long Anns. 2;17-16 k India Stock 2324—India Bonds 85 87 pre. Sonib-Sea Stock 881--Omnitint 21 pre. Exchequer Gills (2d.) 19 15 pr. Last night the Bill for investing the Duke of Yt'it with the care cf his MAJVITY'S Person, IVZS re second time in the House cf Lords. We ate to t& cleat that the Public generally are well satisfied this sacred trust cannot be in better hands. whole Army boars testimony to the impartial coolutt of his, Royal llighness in the patronage conneetni yith thathigh situation : so far, therefore, as Pera nage is connected with the care of his Almcsrv's Person, we may rest perfectly satisfied there via he r no abuse. Of his filial affection, and the tenderam .he has ever manifested towards his Royal Paitii, there is but one opinion throughout the Kingdom. The question :if the state of Convict Transports came again before the House of Commons, and we are glad it did, for certainly the first night's discus sion was calculated to excite very unfavourable im pressions. A prison ship of any kind—indeed the best means that can be devised for the transpc:t cf large bodies of men, even when not criminals, must, in the very nature of things, be any thing but com fortable ; but it would be shocking to be obliged t 3 believe that unnecessary severity and cruelties were added to the unavoidable sufferings which men bring upon themselves by their own crimes. Mr. GRENFELL moved fur various accounts relat ing to the B ink of England, with a view to briain; before the House the profits of the Bank. The CUAN. CELLOR of the EXCHEQUER agreed to the producti:a of the accounts, as calculated to assist inquiry. SIT ROBERT WILSON has fired off his first gun in the House of Commons, on the Motion for a Ccm mittee of Supply. The occasion was ill-chosen, ani therefore the Gallant and Honourable Member's fi:it effort was not felicitous. Sir Ctimurs WOLSELEY has addressed a Letter t() E. BLouNr, President of the Agricultural Society of Staffordshire, dated the sth instant, reprobating tiic Agricultural Petition, which was then making way through that county, and which he designates " a destructive Monster."—As Ministers have w:aly determined to strangle this Monster by a Veto, we need not repeat the whole of Sir CHARLES'S arguments against the Petition : but one part of his I.easonin; demands attention, because it thews that ethers, be sides the oligarchy which he reprobate , , are impli cated in causing " the present miserable state ci die labourer and mechanic." According to him, '.: tL:t manufacturing districts, " the wage-, of lahutir arc extremely unequal to the means if Kerr: 11;• the common necessaries of life, that the wet knicn are in a miserable and deplorable condition, literally bor dering on starvation :" to which Sir CHARLES a,!,ls, " I understand also, from undoubted authority, that the weekly earnings of . a Coventry riband weaver, iv Full employ, do not exceed seven shilling:. ! !" though ;roue call reprobate rituzli Lc.ir!';y