Star. — London, England, 1803-02-23 00:00:00

PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS. HOUSE OF LORDS, TUESDAY, FEL sz. • The Duke of Moryritost, porfuant to a notice be had given, now role to move a congratulatory Addrefs to his Majefty, on the difcovery and frill*f• tration of the late wicked confpiraey, which aimed at his Majefty's molt facred life, and the fubverfion of his Majefty's Government. He was certain, up on this fubjea there could be but one fentiment to the Houfe : for, was it poilible to contemplate the public and private virtues of his Majefty, without feeling the urmoft horror and indignation at any attempt or ifilign againft his moft facred life—a life endeared to us by the experience of the inefti enable blellings which, during his mild reign and aufpicious Government, we fo pre-eminently en joyed ? What then mutt be the bounds of our de- teftation of fo atrocious a delign as that of depriv ing us of his parental proteition. and of deftroying our invaluable Conftitution, which placed us in fo elevated a point of view in the lift of nations, and of which his Majelly's uniform conduit tended to preferve inviolate? He was fenfible that the facred life of our moft gracious Sovereign could not be the foie objea which the ecmfpirators had in view, but the deftruition of that Conftitution of which be compofed a part. For who could entertain with any other view an intention hoftile to the ex ;Renee of a Monarch, whole tender regard for the interefts of his people, whore attachment to our Conftitution, and whole royal virtues in every point of view, claimed the warmed love and ad miration? The hiftory of England could not fur- Milt an inftance of any Sovereign fo juilly endear ed to his people, as his prefent Majefty. The Noble Duke then concluded with moving, " That an bumble Addrets be prefented to his Majefty, in the name of all the Commons of the United Kingdom, congra tulating his Majefty upon his fignal and providened efcape from thole wicked and detellable machinations, In lately pro jeded againft his (steed Peg= and invaluable Life; and for the fulsveruon of our free, happy, and ineftimable Conftitu don, under which this Country enjoys a greater portion of free dom than any other on earth: To allure his Majefty of tbemoft arm, zealous, and unalterable attachment to his Royal Perron, Family, and Govcrament, and of the Ancerell wines that his aufpidous Rdgn may lo ng continue happy, prdperous, and ever for the future undiftorbed by confpiracies of the like kind —and that our happy Cooftitutiom, of which be is the bead, may be tranfmitted, unchanged and unimpaired, to the re moteft pofterity. Earl Camila feconded the motion, and follow. ed the Noble Duke in a high eulogium on his Ma jelly, and the blelEnFs derived from the influence of his royal virtues. fhe propriety of the Addrefs, be Paid, mull be evident to every Noble Lord, and the prefent time the moll eligible for prefenting it, when the trials and execution of aloft traitors had taken place, and confequently could not have any effea upon their fate. He was fenfible that there was but one opinion in the Houle, and he believed in the country (with the exception, if any, of a very few indeed) refpefting the kill indignation which the late horrid confpiracy excited, and the joy which its difcovery and fru dration occafioned. 7rie concluded by obferving, the utmod gratitude was due for this frefh interpo fi tion of DIVINE PROVIDINCIC in our favour; a jull fenfe of which thould be impreffed on the minds of all his Majef. ty's fubjeas. The motion for the Addrefs was then put and carried. A Committee was then appointed, con fiding of the Duke of Montrofe, Earls Camden, Moira, Wearnoreland, and Lord Grenville ' who were ordered to prepare and bring up the fame, which was done accordingly. The Addrefs was then read from the Woolfack, and agreed to, WM. The Honfe was then ordered to wait upon his Majedy with the Addrefs, which was fimilar to that voted in the Commons, and which will be found under that head. Tilt SANK. Lord PELHAM then moved the Order of the Day for the fecond reading of the Bill to continue for a further time, to be limited, the reftriaion on the craft) payments of the Bank. In riling to make that Motion, it was not, he Aid, his intention to detain their Lordfirips' attention for any length of time. The reafons which, in his mind, junifisd the re newel of the meafure, he had Rated on a former occafion, and to what he had then urged but little row occurred to him to advance in addition. The Noble Secretary of State then proceeded to take a curfory retrofpea of the operation of the refiriaion fence it was fira impofed in 1797 down to the pre fent time, and from that retrofpea he thought him felt warranted in afrerting that no injurious confe qnences had arifen from it. Of the (lability and folvenc7 of the Bank, as no doubt was any where entertained, it was fuperfluous for him to bring forward any proof. Other reafons called for the continuance of the reflriaion, more particularly reafons of prudence and expediency. On a former day a Noble Lord (Moira) had afferted that the meafure now under their Lordfhips' confideration mull be either a meafore of Government, brought forward by Minißers from motives which they imagined junified them in propofing it ; or it was a meafure fondled to them by the Bank, and propoferl at the fuggenion and for the convenience of the Dire&ors. - Nay, it was not very obfcnrely hinted by the Noble Lord, that propofition might have been the refult of force mutual arrangement and accommodation between Government and the Bank. To there obfsrvatinns he had only to re peat the fame anfwer which he gave to the Noble Lord on the occafion already alluded to, viz. that the idea of renewing the rellriaion at the prefent moment originated folely with Government. Go• vernment had no communication, direltly or indi realy, with the Bank, as a Bank, upon the mat ter: upon the propriety of the meafure the Direc tors of the Bank might have been confulted merely as individuals converfant with commercial affairs, and likely to be ben acquainted air!' what might injure or promote the c-immcrcial profperity of the country. lt was indeed the general opinion of men ben enabled to form coned notions on fuch topics, that therefirietion cn ;he Bank had proved highly beneficial to commerce, and to a wider ex• tenfion of every fort of commercial convenience and facil t to efe, in concurrence with many other •• • • • educed Kadin-ram to pto aF 1 11* - 1 ? 1 pek it anew. 'They fee the eottrfe of' exchange, which the very large remittances in fpecie for the I purchafe of corn in times of fcarcity, for fubfidies to foreign powers, and for the maintenance of our fleets and armies in diftant Ilations,had occafiined to be fo much againft this country, now gradually turn in its favour; they fee our trade and com merce gradually encreafing and fwelling into an extent beyond any former example; they have confequently juR reafon to welt that in a (bore time there will be fuch a reflux of bullion into the country as to make up for the enormous drain of fpecie which the imperious nature of the circum fiances juft enumerated had unavoidably drawn out of it. Did not, therefore, iautions prudence, did not found policy, call for a temporary conti nuance of a meafure from which no mifchief had accrued, but from which, on the contrary, much benefit had relished. There were other ftatements made by the Noble Lord, to which alto he might be erpefted to advert, more particularly of fome inaccuracies which the Noble Lord imagined he , had ditcovered in a late ftatement of the financial fituation of the country made in another place.— As he did not conceive thefe obfervations to be in timately connected with the queftion before the Houle, and as moreover it might not be in his power to ?edify thefe inaccuracies, if indeed any fuch exifted, he fhould abitain altogether from that difeuffion, uniting that their Lordfhips would feel with him the expediency of continuing the re-! Brillion for the reafons he had now, and before alledged, and of the fufficicncy of which be hoped their Lordfhips were fully convinced. Lord Keno declared himfelf of a very oppofite opinion. He could by no means agree that any thing like adequate and fatisfaftory reafons had been adduced for further continuing the refiriaion on the Bank, under the prefent arcomftances of the country. It was a meafure which he could not but look upon as a very extraordinary one ; a meafure that encroached on private property, that violated public faith, and that put the whole mo nied property of the nation at the mercy of the Bank Direftors. It was an infringement of the folemn and facred compaa which the Bank had entered into with the public when Government granted them a charter, and could their Lordfhips precipitately affent to fuch a meafure without fuch reafons having been adduced for its abfolute ne ceffity as ought to amount almoft to demonftra tion, and enforce the flrongeft conviaion in their Lordfhips' minds ? But where were the proofs of that neceffity ? Did the country now labour under that extraordinary preffitre, arifing from a variety of difficulties and dangers which were advanced in fupport of the firft adoption of the reftrietion? On the contrary, was it not confeffed to be in a Rate of the highly commercial profperity ? Where then could be the urgent neceffity of its renewal in fuch profperous times ? what would be the area of it, but the encouraging of an enormous Are of paper, which railed the price of every article, and mull continue to keep the irate of exchange unfavoura ble to us ? To prove that fuch mug be the aka refulting from fuch a meafure, the noble Lord en tered into a variety of comparative ftatements of the courfe of :Nchange at different periods between Hamburgh and London, and between Lilbon and London. Thefe ftatements he principally took from a paper, called the Price Garrott, which was lublifhed twice a week, and which vas generally ooked upon in the City as very accurate. Ac. cording to thefe ftatements it appeared that from the time the reftritaion was firft impofed, the courfe of exchange began to turn againft this country in various proportions to the quantity of paper in circulation. Previous to the laying on the reftriaion, the Bank feldom Med notes to more than the amount of ten, eleven, or twelve millions, but fence that period they ifued to the amount of fifteen and fixteen millions. Hence the rife in the price of bullion ; for it was juftly re masked that in proportion as paper was plenty, and therefore cheap, gold would be Pearce, and confequently dear. The average amount of our circulating medium was about ten millions. That had been found fully fufScient to anfwer all the purpofes of the country. When, therefore, an unneceffary addition was made to it of one, two, or three millions, there was a depreciation in the value of paper in the fame proportion. But it was not merely on account of the inconveniencies ari , ring from the meafure that he objeCted to it : he objeCted to its principle, and to its being drawn into a precedent, which, he feared, would be the cafe whenever it might fuit the convenience of Mi nifters or the Bank ; and thus Parliament might be called upon not only to confide implicitly in 1 Minifters, but alto to place the fame confidence-in the Direftors of the Bank. In this point of view he wiffied their Lordfhips to confider the meafure, for when thus confidered, it appeared to him to be highly objettionable. Lord Su FroLIC Paid he would trouble their Lord (hips but with one obtervation, and that was re• fpeeting the encouragements which he expelled the Noble Secretary of State would hate held out for the improvement of agriculture. Unlefs a much larger track of land was cultivated in that manner, we fhould be continually under the ncceffity of fending our fpecie cut nf the country for the pur chafe of corn. The (mall tracks of land that were yet enclofed, bore no proportion to what remained uncultivated, and unlefs encouragement was held out for further encloftwes, as our population daily increafed, to fhould our want Gla fiipply of grain; and as France would now he the neaten and the cheapeft market, it would naturally be retorted to in preference to any other. What immenfe rums of our money moil, therefore, find their way into France, the confequences of which be fhould leave to their Lordfhips' confederation. The Earl of Mot RA was at a lots to fee what he had to offer in addition to the ftatements he bad made on a former occafion, which were confirm ' ed by the papers now on their Lordfhips' Table, but which had been fcarecly once adverted to by the Noble Secretary of State. He perfeelly con curred with the Noble Lord who fpijke Loft but one, that when the Bank iffued"-paper to an extraordi. naty amount. their notes mutt virtually bear a dd. count, or Puffer a depredation, and the price of bullion mull alb rife in proportion. Gold watt no; fold for gold, but for paper, and its pike would always be in proportion to the greater fcarcity or plenty of paper, or to that agamft which it was exchanged. To the mifcalculation in the Rateracnt of the Confolidated Fund, the Noble Lord again adverted, and perlifted in his opinion that there was evidently an error in it, though it might be wholly unintentional. Indeed he was very little in clined to difapprove of any attempt to animate the hopes, and uphold the fpirits of the country, efpecially when it could be done on life and eel-. taus grounds. He thereibre felt backward to blame any overcharged colouring in the late Ratcment of ' 1 our financial profperity ; but he felt anxious, at the fame time. to remind their Lordlhips that when the deluflon came to be difpelled, much more per nicious etre& Wiled in the public mind than when no expeOation had been railed at all. He alto wished to Aired their Lordfhips' attention to the facred nausea, of the compad in which the Bank was bound towards all thofe who had entru fled their money to their integrity—a compa.ll which carried with it as fevere a refponfibility, and as high a morality, as could be involved in any tranf adion between man and man—Was a compad fo leered lightly to be trifled with ? When on a for mer occafiun be hinted the pollibility of a fecret collufion between the Bank and Government, or Come expedations of a mutual arrangement and t accommodation, he was fomewhat mifunderftood 1 by the Noble Secretary of State. who reminded ' him that there was a claufe in the Bill prohibiting the Bank from making any pecuniary advance to Government beyond the amount of fix hundred thonfand pounds. He could allure the Noble Se cretary that this was not the kind of accommoda tion which he had in his eye. The accommodation he had in view was the facility which the Bank might afford Government for the issue of Exchequer bills, and which in reality have been Med to a moll extraordinary amount. The Bank might be fcreened on one fide by the continuance of the re aridion, and be tempted on the other by the fu perior advantage of buying up Government paper of that defcription. Indeed when this motive for the renewal of the reftridion occurred to his mind, be difcovered a quality in the tranfaltion which rendered it altogether uncongenial to his mode of thinking, and he was lorry that Minifters had ad vanced no fort of plaufible argument to do away that unfavourable impreffon. The Earl Of WESTMORELAND contended, that the prefent queflion had nothing to do with the (lability of the Bank, or the expediency of the ori ginal reftriOion. Thefe points were long Once fa tisfadorily fettled ; and he had only to fay, that the only refult of the inveftigation which had in the firfl in Rance taken place was, if poffible, to place the credit of the Bank in a Rill more unexception able point of view than it had previoufly been con templated. The only queftion now was. with re gard to the expediency of removing. at the relent moment, a reftridion, the beneficial effeas of which have been already fully experienced. At the time when the reftridion originally took place, the expe diency of the meafure did not originate from any idea of the inadequacy of the Bank to anfwer every jiift demand. but was the refult of an extraordi nary and unaccountable alarm, which gave rife to an unufual demand.' It never was the intention of the ellibliftiment of the Bank that there never should be an iffue of paper greater than, at a mo ment's notice, could be covered by an iffue of calk. This, indeed, would be completely con trary to the very nature of fuch an eftabliffiment. It was only neceffary that the Funds of the Bank thnuld bear a full proportion to the demands for which they might ultimately become refponfible. That the refources of the Bank were completely adequate to every demand, was queftioned by no one, and therefore the queflion of continuing the refiridion was limply one of expediency. On the principle of expediency, the refiridion began in a moment when an extraordinary alarm was ex cited, and it was proper that when the Bank re fumed its cab payments, no extraordinary demand Ihould be created by precipitating the meafure.— Delay could be produltive of no difadvantage, while a hefty renewal of the reftridion might in volve the Bank in very ferious inconveniencies.— His Lordfhip illuftrated thefe topics with cnnfider able force, and placed the argument arifing from the Rate of exchange with foreign countries as ap plicable to this queflion, in a very prominent point of view. • _ _ _ Lord AUCKLAND, in a fpeech of great ability, 'took a comprehenfive view of the fubjea. Our b• mits, however, and the profs of temporary matyr, do not permit us to enter into a detail of his Lord. thip's arguments. He took occafion to ad felt to an allufion made by a Noble Losd who spoke fe cond in the debate (Lord King), who had *fretted that the proceedings of the Bank of Ireland were not fufficiently charafterind by prudence : as hav ing taken a very waive part in the eliablifistuent of that Bank, he thought it his duty to ani madvert on this expreffion, and to Rate, that it was a fubjea of general notoriety that the proceedings of this eßablifhment were marked by the molt perfea regularity and propriety.— Noble Lords were not jußifiable in throwing out thefe look afro-dons, without being prepared to fnbmit a clinic& cafe to their Lordfhips' son. fideration. After touching upon this point, his Lordfhip proceeded to argue on the queftion im mediately before the Houle. He alluded parti cularly to what he had laid on a former night on ' the fubjea of the courfe of exchange. He had then acted, and he now repeated his tobferva tion, that it was not on the Rate of exchange that he relied his fupport of the continuance of the reßriaion. A confideration of much greater importance determined his judgment ; this con. fideration was derived from a view of the Rate o f the country in its relations with foreign powers. He would offer no decided opinion on the probable period to which the continuance of peace might extend. hfir.iffers, he doubted not, would omit nothing in their power to preferve a good under- Rending with foreign States, but it was impriffible to determine how far their exertions might be fuccefsful. Before the expediency of difeontinuing the reflriaion on the payments of the Bank could be ellabltfited, it was acccary to wait to fee how .tew far there was a profpea of the•darability of pear:l Already the courfe of exchange WAS affuniin.,,, more favourable appearance, and the continuan ce of peace could not fail to increafe this advantage. ous operation.—ln the view of a permanent peace, our financial profpeas, his LordfLip contended, were of the molt fl.lttering kind, and it was agree able to every principle of policy and expediency to wait for the operation of this financial profpttity before the rellriaion was precipitately withdrawn. His Lordlhip panic ula rl y called the attenti on of tht Houfe to the very large drain of - cant from this country for the laR ten years. He produced calm. lations to Phew that, during the few years previous to the original reltrietion in 1797, this drain had not amounted tc lefs than 48 millions ; and, including the drain which, from a variety of eircumßances, had taken place during the laft fix years, the whole could not be eftimated at lefs than 120 millions. Under fuch circumftances, policy required that the reftriaion (hould not be withdrawn till the ope. ration of our financial profpea began to be made fully experienced in the influence which it would neceffarily produce in giving an advantageous turn to the courfe of the exchange, and the influx of bullion which it would create. In illufiratit.n of this pofition,his Lordaiip laid before the Houfe a calculation of the amount of the annual revenue, contraflcd with the expenditure. The former he calculated at 34 millions, and the permanent charges at 25 millions, leaving for the ordinary expences of the year a furplus of nine million,. He intimated that he Ihould take an opportunity of bringing this part of the fubjea under confide. ration on a future day, when be hoped to be able to convince their Lordfhips that this profpea, fo far from being exaggerated, fell fhoi t of what there was reafon to anticipate. Having infilled a good deal at large . on thefe topics, his Lordfhip con cluded by voting for the fccond reading of the Bill. Lord GRENVILLE faid a few words, with parti. enlar reference to what had been advanced refpea. iag the financial Rate of the country. He declined at prefent entering into any difcuffion on the flub. jet ; but profeffed his readineti to carryall it at length, when it was regularly brought under con fideration. Whatever the period of peace might be, and in his opinion it might be of very (hurt duration, he trulted that the revenue of the coun. try would be railed to a degree fully adequate to meet the expenditure ; and that no fpeculltions would be formed on views of the furplus of the revenue above the expenditure, which might ulti mately be found erroneous and delufive. His Lordlhip placed this part of the fubjea in a very (hiking light; but concluded with again declining any minute dircullion, till the fubjea came regu larly before the Houfe. The Rate of the finances of the country was one of the deepek interea ; and he felt no ordinary degree of anxiety, that a fubjea fo intimately connedted with the falvation of the country, mould be fully and fairly ender. Rood. Lord Kum in explanation faid, the Noble Lord oppofite to him bad &rented him of (peaking lightly of the Bank of Ireland. What he had faid wahl that their lavilh Me of paper had canted the ex• change again( Ireland to rife to fifteen and a half at one time, and at prefent to be much agaiall it. It had alto canted a premium to be given for Guineas, for at prefect they gave in Dublin an Irifli Bank Note and a Shilling for a Guinea. And at Belfaß the exchange was now at par with this country, which was generally attributed to the people ofßelfaß having uniformly refuted to wept the Notes of the Ira National Bank into theirreir ciliation. From thefe eirctunliances, their Lord (hips would judge whether he had fpoken lightly of the Irifb Bank. Lord Snaffle:As (poke at fome length with his ufual precifion. He defended the Bill, particularly on the ground of the prefent relative fituation of this with other countries. He (hewed by a minute flatement that the countries where paper has been the principal circulating medium, have been chiefly dillinguifhed by a (pint of commercial enterprise, and that on the contrary, in countries where gold was in the greaten abundance, as in France and Spain, the grand fpring of commercial exertion leaned to be fufpended. We regret that the prefs of temporary matter has compelled us to avoid any thing like detail, in this or any of the otherfpeeches on this occafion. After his Lordllip fat down, the queftion on the ad reading was put and carried. The Com mittee was afterwards appointed for Thurfday.-0 Adjourned till the fame day. HOUSE OF COMMONS. Mr. S►t took the Chair at the ufnii hew. After feet priinte Weds had been gout through. Lord Et iron, Chairman of the Committee on the Dune fendine and Stating Licrtion, Wormed the Houfe that the Committee had met this morning; but on account of the non attendance of pee of in Malthus, Mr. T. Cony, they did not proceed to bdinis.bla adjourned. Ordered. agreeably to the precept in the illedion BM that Mr. Corry de attend in his Ma toutorrow. M. Buckley, a v4eftbk Apotbectry.amended at the Bar. and rwlhod ea oat►, that fo dimmed wil i sbe Ants of ilintis by which Mr. Carry was now amilued to kb bed. that he was utterly snide to attend the Comdata. nor was it prohibit that be would be able to rcfume his &academe for kraal days to come. 4Yrtiered. that Mr. Corry be Guard limo ettiodeocto eh the bid COMMittee. _ - 6;;toZWindkoned at the Bar ionic accounts ham the Trofteesottlabidnthfufmn. OrticratobeLiklonthetabat Sir M. B. Friers moved, that Mr. John Atkins be mated from ant:ideate as Member of the Barnftaple Eledima Caes. mittee, on ICCOMPI at revcre Muck H 4 Phylkian appeared.* the Bar, and was mamboed touching Mr. Atkins s bent* which be proved to be fo daaecre.Gy affeeted as to reader hie attendance imprwaindge foe ceallierable dam—Ordered that his attendance be difpenfed with. Mr. As. brought op a Report from the Committee on the Eaplring Laws, which was reed and agreed to, and fame of the RddneiotMwsrt pottptmed, and referretito Mr. ALIMANDIR brought up • Report from the an the Militia Training Bill—Ordered to be mad • third tifte on Thurfday neat. Mr. G. BIM° brought up a 818 for repedrieg and anamodlng the Workbook et the Parini nat. Panents—whidi wasting& gra time, sad ordered to be read a fecond time. After toms hither barites of a private aware, Lord Eusrom rote to call the attention of the Houk to a fubjea of the utmnQ importance—a lubjea which *OUR have already roofed the feelings of every Member of that Houle. The fubjea to which be alluded was the dewelopensent of a hor rid awl eanguioary plot for the "(throes= of our