Star. — London, England, 1817-03-06 00:00:00

1 •• , o omplaint: :rid been made is an/ or.e instance of •‘.r of tho3e who were concerned in the deli • new coin. He (Mr. W. Pole) did not the Honourable and Learned Member ••• rectived the copy of the instructions to a d a lluded, for they were secret, and the pion who gave them must have betrayed his trust. As to the manner in which the coin had been issued, Ite should not observe further. Nu person but the Honourable and Learned Member hints. If had corn p4;ned of it: every one was batisficd with it. He, thereiore, did not think that the taunts of that Ho roarable and Learned Gentleman were at all called jr.- on tie present occasion. The remarks which the wmouraole and Learned . Member thought ht to m Ai:e o.' other parts of the subject, came r.ow with a ,1 t., ; grace trorrrhim, after his having let pass the op.! ..:iity when, if they were at all good, they might . . had some effect. Why dil he nut trilke them - ;111 the Bill for the new coinage was before the ? That Bill had undergone a discussion, and was received with an unanimity 'almost incredible, v e t o it was cons dered that the subject was of such i i es portance. A task was undertaken by Ministers rich had not been attempted for a century before, ere o altering the whole system of the currency of the country, and yet the Honourable and Learned ;ember (ldr. Brougham) had not then thought p-eper to come forward and make those observations vreeh he now brought before the House:. He (Mr., V:. W. Pole) conceived, therefore, that what had .olden Irons the Honourable and Learned Member area uncalled for, and quite beside the Motion with oe;:h he concluded. Parliament had already deeitl te oe the sn'eject, and it was useless to advert to it we. He Would not, therefore, go over the grounds rhich had been already urged on this matter.— The 11-nourable and Learned Member had said, eat thee: was greet dauger of the new coinage being okeit out of the country. He (Mr. Pore) was quite another opinion. Parliament had well provided etainst that by making 66 shillings go to the pound troy, and by enacting, that no sum above forty shil -I;ngs in silver should be a legal tender. It was ab. End to suppose that the silver currency would go out of the country as long as the balance of trade re maimed in our favour. That balance was now in our favour, and while it so continued it would be idle to entertain fears of the coin being taken out of the country. The fears of the Honourable and Learned Member, that bullion might rise in value, were equally unfounded. Indeed, so little grounds were there for this, that the Bank had lately sent a quan tity of bullion to the Mint to be coined, that they m;ght be ready to resume their cash payments at the appointed tinse—(Hear, hear).—There was little dan ger of the rise in silver ; but if it should, and that there WAS danger of its going nut of the country, it would then he time for Parliament to interfere to pre vent it—(Hear, hear, from Mr. Brougham). —The Ponourable and Learned Member cheered him; but be (:.Ir. Pole) would much rather have the arguments of that Honourable Member than his cheers. There els no reason to fear, that the silver would be taken out of the country in consequence of the circulation of Bank tokens; for it was not the intention of the Bank to suffer those to continue in circulation.- They would in the course of some time be called its. B.fore he made any observations on that part of the Hen. and Learned Gentleman's speech, which was dressed against him (Mr. Pole) personally, be thongla it but justice to say a few words as to the great assistance and support which he had received nom the Bank of England and from all the private Bankers of London and Westminster in the arrange. meets which were made for the distribution of the new silver. There was not a banking-house which had not come forward and offered their' services gra tuaously on the occasion. They united themselves as a ene persou, formed a Committee, and Wrote to all e•eir friends who were Bankers in the country, re quioiteg the same assistance which they themselves had so kindly offered. (Hear.) By this means stations were appointed in the several parts through out the country where the new silver could be most conveniently issued at the same time. The Banks of Sctland, too, had given most efficient assistance to Government on this occasion. It was to these so very 'Judah', and gratuitous exertions on the part of the several Banks, that the Government owed those a: rangensents by which the coin was issued with so. much celerity, and by which such general utis factiou was given to the public. (Hear, hear,)- I'.e should now make an observation on whathad fal len fr m the Hon. and Learned Gentleman relative t the manner in which the coin was finished. Though tie co:Ad state that no expense had been spared on ti:is part of the work, he would admit that the head en ihe I .rger pieces did not give that satisfaction and ral not in that style of execution which could be "shed. 'Ili: was the case with the half-crowns eel', fir as to the others, he flattered himself that the itemiser in which they were executed did not show thit want of taste which the Honourable and Learned Gentleman imputed. He (Mr. Wellesley Pole) had setisfaction in stating to the House, that this defect would be remedied, for there was now another head in progress through the Mint—(A high )—which he fxped would be finished in that style that might give general satisfaction. As to the conduct of those who managed this department, he should only observe that they would continue to do what they conceived was ael duty for the benefit of the public, and would not he deterred from it by the taunts of the Hon. Gentle- Flee, or of any others who choose to comment on them. He should now come to that part of the Honourable and Learned Member's speech, in which he bad made 4 very personal and uncalled for attack upon him Wellesley Pole). He was charged with having i 'ated • a mar! of his own, the letters W. W. P. on the new ccen. Ile contended he had a right to do so, gee the Indenture of the Mint authorized him to put ‘‘ .1 ,1 it private mat k be pleased on the coin, nay indeed lit4m some degr ee to ld hi m to put a mar k on t h em. -e tees surprised that the Honourable and Learned tCentleman should be unacquainted with this indea and with the authority which it gave to the !' "-ter of the Mi nt to p l ace suc h mar k on t h e co i n. la! therefore had placed a private mark on the new 1 . What that private mark was he would not tell Honourabl e and Learned Gentleman; but would et on his right to put what mark he pleased. As the letters W. W. P. he should observe, that they w , nut on the shield, as was erroneously stated—, were on the outs id e o f i t ; and here he could not but express his disapprobation of the imputation which had been - cast on hinvfor /has putting his name, as from pride and ambition. The act was his duty, and be ought not to have been held up to ridicule for it. He should also repel the charge as falsely made, which imputed to him conduct similar to that for which Cardinal Wolsey bad been impeached. On this subject. if the Honourable and Learned Gentle. man (Mr. Brougham) had looked into &Deltic or Martin Fowkes, he would have found that the fact which he had mentioned of Cardinal Wolsey was stated differently from the manner in which he (Mr. Brougham) had told it. It was a tact, that at that period the King was in the habit of granting to some great men, such as the Archbishop of Canterbury and others, the power of coining money. and that in consequence of this permission, Cardinal Wolsey had coined groats at York. On these groats were the letters T.W. and also a Cardinal's hat. This in pan was afterwards made one of the forty-four Ar ticles of impeachment against the Cardinal, but it was only for putting the Cardinal's hat, which, ac cording to Martin Fowkes, was considered a foreign mark. There was not a word in the impeachment which imputed the putting the letters T.W. as a crime. Indeed twenty precedents could be mentioned since the time of Charles I. where Masters of the Mint pub licly put the initials of their name on the new coinage. It was therefore most unjust to charge him (Mr. Wellesley Pole) with doing t:lat which he had a I right to do, and imputing to him motives quite the contrary to those which governed his conduct.— He should again say, that as long as he continued Master of the Mint, he should put whatever mark he 'pleased on the coin, of course always taking care to avoid any thing which looked like disrespect to his Sovereign, and from this line of conduct he would not be deterred by any taunts which could be urged. He should now offer one observation on what had been observed of the expense which the new coinage was said to be to the country. This had been stated to be a million and a half. So tar from that, he should state, that he believed the 4500,000 which had been voted would cever all the expense which had been incurred. He did not state this positively to the House, or pledge himself that it would be ex actly as he said ; but his belief was, that the expense would not be greater than was first estimated. In conclusion he should observe, that as the instructions which had been sent to the Magistrates were secret, and as they had so fully answered the end for which they were given, he would oppose the present motion. Mr. BROUGHAM in explanation observed, that nothing could be more completely misunderstood than what he had said was by the Right Honourable Gentleman (Mr. W. Pole). He did not complain of the new coinage, but or the expense at which it lied been issued, and he was sure he was not so un derstood by the Members who sat near him. His object was, to thew that this issue of the new coinage might be made a ground why the Bank should not resume cash payments. As to the case of Cardinal Wolsey, the Right Hon. Gentleman bad also mis understood him. He did not say that it was for putting the letters T.W. that the Cardinal was im peached, but for having put a Cardinal's hat on the money which he was permitted to coin. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER thought that the discussion had proceeded tat enough, and he would not therefore take up the time of the House. He should only say, that no such correspon dence as was now called for ever took place. Mr. BROUGHAM observed, that though the words of the motion might not extend to the particu lar correspondence which had taken place, yet he had reason to believe such correspondence had passed from the Treasury, or the Exchequer, or the Mint, to the Magistrates in the country. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER— " Not from the Treasury." Mr. CURWEN had heard a great deal of the new coinage and of the manner in which it - .vas issued, but he had never heard a single complaint of the manner in which that had been done. On the con trary, be understood it to have given general satisfac lion —(Hear, hear.) After a few words from Mr. Alderman SMITH and Lord COCHRANE, the question was put and negatived without a division. PSTITIONS FOR REFORM. Mr. BROUGHAM suggested to Sir Franc!' Bur dett the propriety of postponing the debate on the Petitions which he had brought in a few days before, as the House was now so thinly attended. Sir FRANCIS BURDETT was anxious to have the Petitions taken into consideration as soon as pos sible ; but on the present occasion he bad no objec tion to accede to the wishes of the House, if it was not convenient to have them discussed at present. Tuesday was then suggested as the day when they might be considered, but rite SPEAKER observed, that there was a large body of petitioners whose prayer was still pending, and it was of importance that as little delay as pos sible should take place in the consideration of the petitions. Indeed a ptivilige was involved, and it was of consequence that the petitioners should know whether their prayer would be received. Lord CASTLEREAGH acquiesced in what bad fallen from the Speaker. and therefore thought that the petitions might stand for to-morrow. lite Sedi tious Assemblies Prevention Bill was the principal matter which would occupy the attention of the House to•morrow (this day), and he did not think that would give rise to any lengthened discussions. The consideration of the petitions was then or dered for to-morrow. The Coffee Bill and the Ship Passengers Regulation Rill were read a third time sod passed. -Lord PALMERSTON brought up the Estimates of the Re ductions sod Superannuation, in the Army, which were ordered to be printed. His Lordship thee moved, that some Estimates which had been before the House, of the charge of Garrison Al lowances, and of the Compassionate list, should be withdrawn ; which, being carried in the ailltsnative, be brought up other Es timates of the sane kind. These were ordered to be printed. Lord CA3ILEREAUH said, that previously to the presenting papers " 11181 " to the Cummiedoo for auditing accounts at Lisbon, he should move fur certain other snipers on that subject. His Lordship then moved for several dispatches from Mr. Canning, when Asibessador at Lisbon, &various dates.—Ordered. Lord CAS TLEREAGH then peesented some papers relative to the Lisboa Commission. Mr. BARING moved for amounts of the quantity of Wine imported from the Care of Good Hope—of .e amount of duties paid thereon—of the value of all imports from the Cape—and all aspects thereto, diatingubhing British and Colonial, and Foreign produce manufactures—ail for the Ave yeah ending lan e 5, Isl 7 The HOW, then Adjourned. • ATM EVENING STAN.. LONDON: THURZDAY, MARCH 6, 1817. PRICK OF STOCKS THIS DAY AT TWELVE O'CLOCK s Reduced shut—Cnna. mu. 709—for acc. 4 per Cruz. per Cent. Navy 991 i Exchequer Bills Kr. 16s. pr Bonds 37 38 pr. THE FUNDS. The rise in Stocks his acquired the climax anticipated by the lull:. The first bargain of X5OOO Stock was this morning made at 70 for the account, Which has settled policies in the Alley to the amount of £700,000. Consols opened at c 9/ for Monty. and 70 for the Account. The Pubhc are under a mirake with respect to the ftd. Ekehequer Bills—Goveinment Leer i.sued the whole 24,00,000 to the Bank at Ss. premium, hut the *III not take them it present ; they are only purchuers td mock, which will account for the great rise, PoUcies were opened tide morning, That Consols will be done at 75 On or before the April Accountk. The Speeches in the Haute of Commons last night were rather of a desultory quality, but, not withstanding, the proceedings were not devoid of in tetest. A motion was made by Mr. M. Perz.lenaLu to address his MAJESTY for the purpose of obtaining information on the amount and state of human food in Ireland, with a view to determine the expediency of stopping distillation from grain in that country. Froth the statements of Ministers, it appeared that the subject bad already undergone much inveatiga tion. They were persuaded on the whole, that a SUS. pension of the distilleries would not produce any sensible benefit.—Tice whole argument may be re-1 duced to a few words ••• 4( The Irish must and will have their whiskey—a prohibition, therefore, of the legal distillation, is the same thing as a command to the illicit distiller to prosecute his business with ala crity." It was also remarked that there was much unsound corn in the market which could not be sold for any other purpose; and besides ,‘ the failure of the crop of corn last year was not so much in quan tity as in quality." We were happy to hear the CHANCELLOR of the EZRHEQUER acknowledge his c nviction that there is always danger to be apprehended from the interfe rence of the Government and Parliament in matters of trade. This has ever been our opinion ; and we think it might be easily proved that the stagnation experienced in our manufactures and commerce dur ing the last year would have been comparatively light,but for the injudicious interlerence with a matter of trade which originated, was perfected, and carried into law, the Corn Bill, and the Bill laying dirtier ON Chase, Baiter, Ike. imported from foreign parts. Nay more, we think it would not be difficult to shew that these laws, so far from benefiting, have been highly injurious; to the landed and agricultural interests. - It is true indeed that the prices of the farmer's produce have risen since the passing of thes.: Acts ; but it is equally true that the enhancement of price was produced by another cause,--the general failure of last year's harvest throughout the greater p ir: of Europe. Would the price have been as high had these laws, interfering with trade, not been enacted ? We think they would have been higher ; fur we would have had more money in the country—or, what is the same thing, a greater quantity of realized indus try. When peace was restored w Europe, in what state did it find the Continent ? The finances every where in a state of disorder, the people poor and without the means of paying with money for any of the products of British industry. Were no other means of payment within their power ? Yes, they could have paid for large purchases had Acts of Par liament not interfered with "matters of trade." They could and would have taken great quantities of your woollen and cotton cloths—of your cutlery, hardy4re, and iron goods, if you would have taken corn, cheese, and butter in payment. But Os you pro. hibited by the operation of legal enactments— threw your labourers out of employment all over the ccantry—left numbers of your trading ships to rot in the docks, while your hardy mariners were compelled to wander about your streets as vagabonds :—And then you affect to wonder at the number of paupers, and cry out loudly against the increasfoi the poor rates ! It is in the very nature of laws nurtured and per fected by mere cupidity, to manifest, by their inevi table consequences, the shortaightedness —the abso lute blindness of their projectors—and also, sooner or later, to make the evil fall on those who, by a coer cive " interference with matters of trade," endeavour to counteract the universal laws of social in ercourse laws too powerful to be controuled by locsl Legisla- I • bon. But for the Acts to which we have alluded, Britain would have become the magazine of Europe for all the excesses of foreign industry ; and these she would have obtained in return for the honest labour of that portion of her own population which for months has been out of employment, living upon the stock of a community to which they could contribute nothing. With foll employment and full wages they would not have failed to have full bellies: in other words, the farmers, instead of supplying s demand, measured not by the belly but by the purse of the purchaser, would bare had hearty customers ; and by the natural operation of cause and effect, the land would again have begun to recover itself.— But, by your present system, having nothing but ca sualties to bolster it up, it must progressively sink till it find its minimum ; for a :nerd' scarcity is not of frequent recurrence; and when it dues occur, always brings deductions in its train which eventually eat up all the supposed profits. Indeed the prosrects of gain from a season of scarcity must ever prove an illusion. Let the " seven lean kine," only - eat up "the seven kin, fat and well-favoured," and th e stupid Landholder, who would counteract the laws of onivitsal intercourse, will be sure to be obliged td timately to sell his estate for present susten incc. We might enlarge on this subject, but we will not at present. It is, however, o.e o' great importance —especially in the view of the approaching discitc. lion on the system of the Poor L sws.3 system d,s graceful to common sense, and subversive .4 every moral frelli:g among the I ibouring classes—a system which is indehted for all its worst feitures to the stupidity, the ignorance, the cupidity and dig. honesty of—of whom ?Of the Landhohlers only ? No. Of the manufacturing cl isTcs also—but princi pally oaf the lardliclders, with whom wejoin the whole igriculttral body.—Wc Kill, ere long, return to this st:hject. Mr. 13not:Gttav's assault on the Master of the Mint lart night was the poorest effort almost drat we ever witnessed in the House. His reasoning was without p int, his facts unfounded, his history apocryphal, and his inferences quite groundless. Mr. W. Po Le informed the House that the B.nk has sent wild to the Mint, for the purpose of tesurning cash payments. We have received this morning the Paris Papers of Sunday and Monday last. The Chamber of Deputies are still occupied with the Budget. Delay—interminable delay, seems to be the order of the day. It is said to be the policy of the opposition to protract the discussion to the greatest possible length, but from what motives of good that policy is adopted we do not just perceive. —Every day of delay in voting the Supplies must i e productive of a loss of some hundred thousand francs to the revenue ; and as on all hands it is admitted that the very utmost atnount of revenue which can be collected this year will fall greatly short of the exigencies of the State, we cannot but designate as profligate and wanton any opposition which has for its object to postpone, without any necessary cause, the putting that Revenue into a course of collection as soon as possible. TALLEYRAND has been restored to favour. 03 Sunday he had an audience of the KING, and nest day resumed his functions at the Tuilleries as Grand Chamberlain. The Count P 0720 Dr Bottom, the Russian Am. bassador, has been overturned in his carriage, and ver► seriously hurt. One of the Journals pretends that some sailors have spread a report at Copenl.agen, happily most impro bable, of use entire di;appearance of the isl ind of Madeira, in consequence of a volcanic eruption 1 Funds 61 1. 55 c. %HI•: AIMS'. We learn from undoubted authority, that all Br;. tish Officers who hold commissions in the ritigttese army, and are on leave ot. Absence in tt.is country, have received peremptttry order's forthwith join their regiments. The cause is said to be, that Lord BICKEWIRD had left Lisbon, and had proceeded to the Spanish frontier, in cotitequence of dissuoti , ms ' with the Court of Madrid, which had taken an un favourable turn, and the ultimate issues of which were doubtful. It was therefore necessary that oth:cis should be at their post. lATELLIGEATE. PORTSMOU fH, MARCH 3. Arrived his Majesty's ship HOPE from a eruize. Sailed his Majesty's •hip LARNE for Jamaica, and the Eb.mezer, Tuestrv, for Torbay. LI AL, MARCII s. Remain in the Downs the following East Indiamen, together with a pleat many other outward bound ves sels :—Herefordshire, Bridgewater, General Kyd, Atlas, Marquis Wellington, Minerva, Cerberus, Mary Ann, Marshal Wellington, Brothers, Barton, Henrietta Elizabeth, Columbia, Waterloo, Bombay Merchant, Caledonia, Martha, Baring, Lord Wel. lington, Regret, Spoke, Eliza, London, Abeona, Regalia, Lloyds, Experiment, Ellergill, Astrea, and Maria ; also remain the Caaiden, Minerva, Vittoria (I), and Vittoria (2), transports, with troops from Jamaica for liarwich.—Wind West. LEITH, MARCH 3. Last night it blew a tremendous gale: sonic of the vessels ran foul of each other with such violence, that the Mary and Margaret, of Stirling, and the Nelly, of Inverkeithing, sunk in the harbour, and are total wrecks. Several other vessels received injury. ANOTHER LETTER—SAME D E. In consequence of the very high wind and tide last night, there has been a great deal of damage iii Leith harbour, particularly among the ferry-boats; three of them have their sterns completely torn away, from their beating the one against the other, and other five have lost their railings on the quarter-deck; and, although the planks ate not altogether away. )e:, from the friction, they are more of the consistency of damaged hemp than w rod. Several sloops are much in the same predicament ; and some other boats, or rather their fragments, are scatterts.l up and down the harbour. RAMSGATF, MARCH S. Arrived the Margaretta, R. lines, from London to Dublin, with lois of anchor and cable. . GRAVESEND, NIAIZCII S. Gray,Art i f vd the v e mi s t. re ht . a l i t i , tu riu r ' .t, sis ilen tn i l d b , ayp froni They naTripiris:. Sailed the Lorna, Arm., for Haniburgli ; COl'ef *if 01 Levert and Melville, :finial, tor IL room; Brilliant, Wilson, for ; Eke, Laws for Rotterdam ; Industrie, Vanduyvonbode, fur ditto;— and the Akycn, Thompson, tor the Cape of Good Hope. CUSTOM-HOUSE, MARCH S. Sn /PS INTER ED IN W A RDS. !IC Pheasant, Barnes, /rim Waterford; Sarah, Barrett, and Pomona, Jebson, from St. MI. cbael'a Fortitude's Uvalde, Manning, from St Christopher's; Venus, Serat6n, from Cork; Harmony, Pratt, from T. neriite ; Diligence, Pantie, from Oporto ; and Trafalgar, Hal, front Sa'o,.. tWAIt nts.— Ilse Liverpool,Bell, for New Prov.m.nce ; Vruw Algonda, Fouket, for Amsterdam; lean, Wilson, fur Frederica; and Charles, Lepingwell, for C. rk. Maacn S.—lsmail:is-Ih, Industry, Evans; the freedom, Swaged; and Speedwell, Sihstoi, Trent Cork ; Melville, Smith, from Cadiz ; Union, Haun, hens Weal:01J; and Nelson, Brown, from Madeira and Lansarette. Ourweans—Tbe Prince of Cobourg, Huskinsan, and Mont real, Hillary, fur Quebec ; the Wi loam, (o n, for New Yoi k Holland, Peppleweil, lot klidritur and s . Pa..* .urgh ; Ger- Linde, Longrsiiv, for the Cape of Goon slope, 404,1 Fanny, Campbell, for Jamaica. Two more ot dir peg .4.01 i% .11418. a with treason, at Glasgow, have been set at liberty. The number now to custody is t!d. Two of Ike persons apprehei - Jed last week, for rioting, at Brownfield, h.tve like wise been set at Tile. ty,