The National Register. — London, England, 1819-05-23 00:00:00

1(16 APPENDIX TO rug COMMONS' EEPOBT (iN BANK .Arr.IIRS. At a Cowl of Di►ectors of the Rank of attend, held •.0 I hut-day the 3Sre March, ItllH I • " • • • 'I lie Cuuti, h4viits takes' iota I.elious eorsiderotion the fullJoing qu rotluu, , proposed by the Secret Cuturuittee of the Howe of COM MO; hi, via 1. TO what further period, In the opinion of the Bank, ought the lebitiction on cash-pay nn n s to be custe..lucti? 2 . Voce the &mit an) ehgeestion, to offer. with ►•opect to any assignee that can he afforded to the Batik. by le„is6►tive enactment or Otherwite,forficititnung their I eiwitioption of cotth.pr) mails ? Resolved, That the restriction na cash-payments %VAS altogether a measure of state necessity: slid that the object fur inquiry now is preowned to be, not st hen the Rank w ill be prelim cd to roseate paymenta.hi specia l , but whether the pubic will be able to bear that reduction of the circulating VII damn w bid: a speedy aduptioii of the measure would reit der iia!ispensable. That pre t loos to the war, the amount of sperie in circa. lation was variously estimated, even by persons hest quali fied front their situations to obtain infoimation ; it seems, however, to be ag: red that it was about 20,000,0004; but whatever the amount, the tt hole has lit en exported. That this Court has never ceased to he duly impressed with the great additioatti resposisib.lety which devs lied upon the Bank out the passing the Rests ita ion Act, cod the dime tors base uniformly endeavoured conscient musty to discharge a most delicate and important duty. That coasiderations of profit to the Bank have never iallueliced the Directors iu the issues of their paper, bet they have invai Oily endeavoured, us much as pirsitile, to laiiit the amomit ; and, when all r ircunist wares are con sidered, it taus j•ialy admit of a question, whether, instead of e p•ainin4 of excess, there is not rather ground for sur prise that the amount has been so cm uniscriberl. That its the course of the veal.. 1816 and 1817, a favourable turn in the excliami.es enabled the Bank to collect a sum of ti 7asure, which, its addition to what was already in its clif fs.' t. w mild Is tve beets ttilficiesit to meet the opening, Ville lopes -which were the.' catettaineil had been reatized in-re especially, as the 'lan* t.• Governinelit of 6,000,0004 and 3.000,0001. were in ethsr,e of pay no sit. and the greater part of tlw salter advances on elkehrquer halt became due before the bth of July 1818, the day ou which the Restric tion 13111 was to expire; that the systeni of finance which it has been thou.:let proper to adept has not favoured the sub sequent liquidation of these advances., is in no degree alit i • bitable to the Bank. That this Court, believing thene was a positive evil in keeping nut of the general cireitticti ni thew hole of the Inrge amount of gold which had been collected, determined, in some degree, to anticipate the opening ; and accordingly, in April, 1817, advertised the of atl mites under 5/. stated prior to January, 1816: and isubsequentl, in the mouth of September, fit:thee advertised the payment of lie/legal every deteript.on dated prior to January, 151 . % being to the amount of many millions. That the public, instead of availing themselves of the op portunity thus ietTor.led of obtaining gold for notes, brought .their guineas into the Bank ; and this continued to tie the case iill the issue of the sovereign.; sod half-sovereigns, for 'which there ass au iinno diate dentund, though at fast only as objects of curiosity. That thus f r a ,hart fen.on there appeared every reason In hope th it tar resumption of cash payinems, an event to which 01 had looked aith lame or less anxiety, might have taken place imperceptibly ; hut this flattering prospect was of *hart duration : the ejttemive financial operations on the continent, in a hich subject • had taken so large is share, caused the exchanges, a hi ch perhaps hod been forced above tlwir natural level, to fall so greatly below par, as to snake gold, mere especially the.uew coin, a very advantage ous remittance ; anti 'has the Bank has been drained of a lar4e portion of what had been accumulated. That, with the experience already possessed, and after the must mature doliheration, this Court is of opinion, that, in order to the re-estel4iAment of a metallic currency, it will Ire necessary that the Batik should not only he provided with a sofficiesd fond to meet the densailds which max be made upon it, with reference to the amount of its noses in circula tion, hut a "apply must also be obtained, nearly if not folly equal to the amount of specie in the country previous totac 'ear 1797. That it then heronries a question, front what sources, and in how blmrt at<pace of time, such n gold is likely tu, be uhtalned. That it appear: -certain, that little is to he expected at present f Smith America, and therefore it is to the continent of litirupe the country must chiefly look for supplies. That in deliberating on this most important subject, this Court ii,miints. it u, 1,, an incontrovertible proposition, that every attempt to bring in and retain tin precious metals, white the exchanges are helms par, inu,t be imavailing. That then only can a country be s.tid, to he s;tslwlug rich in gold and silver, *hen it receivtsihem as the. balance of ezported goods actu ,Ily paid fur. That although it must be obviates, that the returns from the Costom.house books ury uo wire crit,rion of the proslue-' tiveness of nu (sport trade, because adventurous pessons erten export produce and manufactures fur which they receive little or no return ; still the Court is riot dispo-ed to take an unfavourable view of the state of our forrign com merce : it must uevertheless be acknoule4edjutiging from the exchanges, shut uhatever the bal ance a trade may be, the balance dpayments is greatly against the country ; and iu the opiulon of this Court, there is not much encouragement to carat any maxcr,id amelioration in the exchanges for the presents nor would& sudden improvement, to what test, decide the question, as it is on a grsdnal and permanent rise only that full reliance ought to be placed. That, with respect to the continent:ll finance operations already alluded to, this Court does ,not cons id er t h e i r • ilijurious effects to be bounded by the iarestorents whirls .lacy have already burn wade fur account of British stab joc ; but it is apprehended that these eperations, Jailor; : .v . THE NATIONAL REGISTER. Weir eositinuatice, 0111eontribute to Lego 11,e foreign ca chaages in in unsettled state. That ads Court cannot refrain from adverting to an opinion, stroagiy insisted on by bow., that the Bank has only to seduce its issues, to obtain s favourable turn in the exchanges, end a consequent influx of the precious asetals ; the Omit conceives it to he its duty to declare, that it is unable to discover any solid foundation for sudt a sentiturat. _ . _ Tlbit gold is not supeu abundant on lite Continent is folly gas-Maine I; and 11101 a new competitor going Loo the mat Let fur an VIEW ..... lIS sum, alabi, by increasing the demon., upon a hunk d ►nppl l olust et lid!) 1211baLICC the price, w'isile the quantiq wunld 'VIII4III the sanu•. That even if gold could be ploctued, she Bauk could only pay for it with its Stoles. Thal it is contended by those who recommend a tether titm of the paper cure cull. that it will have the effect of loot-ling pikes, and that foreigners will thereby be in duced to take more of the produce and matinfactutes of the country. That 1114:Court conceives this expectation to be founded in crier, ina•nwch as a tow tate of flnChallge has always been considered roost atom - able to• exports; but that even should a temporary effect be produced, it would probably be only a disadvantageous anticipation of the regular consumption, and result in a sttious re-action upon the trade of the country. That this Court can confidently assert, that the Hank has never [imbued its own advantages at the expense of the public jowl est : and a heilever Pattiament in its a is slum shall deem it to be most conducive to the good of the comitry to trise (Attie restiietion, tbi> Court will be pi e pared to 'nett the exigency with every missinible sac/i -fice; bat to expect the 11411 k to issue gold at il. I 7z.1 Up. per oz., hoarser •bigb the pike rw the Dustbin may he, would be to impose a heavy loss upon the corporation, without tendering any adequate benefit to the public. That Ibis Court having thus deliberately expressed its sentiments, feels compelled to decline giving any pre eke emitter to the nest question proposed by the committee, ileeely impressed as the dirt clots are, that the iesumpt ion CI cash payments, with safety to the conntry,nitist rhymed mom eileinustances, which it is impossible for them to foresee, and over winds they could elm eise no essential control. That in reply to the second question. this Court iv not *ware of any legislative enactments %%Melt could at the present moment accelerate that favourable ahem!' and permanent improvement in the foreign exchanges, essen tial, in the opinion of this Court, to the restoration of a usetallie currency ; but for lemons already assigned, it is deemed highly desirabtc that, prior to the removal of the resN - icA' the Government debt to the Bank bliuuld be gradually reduced to the extent of 10,000,0004 The following is an extract of a private letter from Paris, dated May Sdi :—" The effect of the late decision in the affair of Camillon and .Marinet ou the Parisians, may lie conceived by the British Public ; but it is in .lessee only that the consequences will ire felt hay the English. Already is the insulting demeanor of the French towards our countrymen who reside here, in creased to a pitch of insolence. Whatever may have beets the conduct of a few individuals from England, who hare disgraced the British character by their fully or injustice, the great body of English resident in France by noaneans deserse the insults which they experience daily. Hitherto these instills have been the effusions of mortification arising from defeat. Now, they are ren dered more insupportable by a pretended vindication of national honour. Cantillou and Marinet are acquitted; the Trench rejoice in their acquittal : that is natural, for they are•Freuchmnen, and the Duke of Wellington isa foreigner. Now, fnmi the general feeling of the French on this subject, there is little doubt that the situation Of the English, iu this country, will be rendered peculiarly disagreeable. The hostility of thecremsh is not con fitted to the British. The Swiss regiments in the French 1 service, notwithstanding their exemplary conduct, suffer considerably from the ungenerous conduct of this nation In some of the departments, the inhabitants refuse to re ceive Swiss officers into their society, and the same ill beral as raugement has been made by several Parisian A dreadful crime has spread consternation in Berlin ; it has made the greatest impression, as people think they recognise in it the same k.nd of delusion which placed in the hand sit Saudi the dagger of au assassin. Dr: Ne ttttt aun, •Physician to the Hospital Ls Charity, bad just laid himself down in bed with his wife, when ►he latter seizing a small kitchen knife which she had con cealed under the bed-clothes, stabbed him in the breast. The Doctor leaped out of bed, and called for help. His. servant came, but being terrified, lost his presence of mind, and ran assay. Mrs. Neumann pursued her hus band, and, in spite of his resistance, wounded hint in 17 places. .One wound only is through the side, but it is ti ght so be mortal. The guard, at length mastered this fury. She merely said to the Magistrate who inter rogated her, What t have done it was tnysluty to do." This dtliberatccruelty is the more astonishing, because, till this 1111/e, this woman had listed on good terms with her husband, and by whom she hrd several children. She earnestly desires that she may not be supposed to be mad ; however, front the nature of her caaversation, and the choice of her books, sn opinion seems to be en tertained that this unhappy woman indulged in intri cate speculations, which may have disordered her brain, after having depraved her moral character. Saturday nineteen hundred thousand ounces of silver, consisting of Spanish dollars and five•franc pieces were conveyed from the Bank to the Docks at Blackwall, belonging to the East India Company, and put on board the several outward-bound East Indiamen for Bombay, Bengal, and China. They were in strong wooden boat.;, each box centaie.ing :;000 ounces. 1. ~ 1 It. lon/ • .t • • •• %&,13.1:, 4: 'ld . •..;. f: * NI* moss-,::tt-, Algt• 25. -1 BANK RESTRICTIONS. Ou Tuesday one of the most numerous meetings tbat evf r assemb ed u l a commercial occasion tools place in ties City of London Tavern ; it consisted of hlerchants, Ranker s , Trade's, &Mothers, of the City of London, and the oldeei of those a ho called it a as Li agree to a Petition to Parlianism, pray Mg the Legislature alpinist tiny measures at this t 0000 which by a forced, preicipitute, or 'undue con'ractiun of the itecessaiy and a holesome currency of these kingdoms, may tend to embarrass still hither the general trade 44f the country, domestic and foreign, depress the value of landed itinl all other pi opei ty, and injure alike the public al ed.!. a;rieultuic, manufactures, and commerce. The Chinrinan nut having arrived at the exact time appointed, • Mr. Ilnut got upon the table, and aus saluted pith the usual cotophincots. At this toomesit Sir. Bainbridge, nc companied by Sir Robert Peel, Sir C. Floner, Mr. Ron. croft, &e. entered the loam. Mr. Bainbridge basing been called to the Chair, said it a usuooecessars to state to the meeting the math r for t heir discussion. Sume of the neaspapes• had, he s uJ, iminunted that those oho culled the nu•etiug Isere under the influence of the Bank of England ; and others, that they had got tin it lesson from Cosernment. Ile conceived theni to be quite independent.. Sid R. Peele rose to propose the resolutions un which the Petition was to he foimiled. Ile had, he said, berm ill Par liament in 1197, when the Bank Resttirtioms same first introduced lay Mr. Pitt—(llisses). All might not have ap proved of the measure, but they admitted the integrity or the man. 'Those restrictions were caused by dire necessity, when the enemies of England, unable to meet her in the livid, flied to ruin lily li.lancea. Upon tl•eir first introduc tion the Meeting placed the utmost confident e in the Bank, and he busted that equal credit would now be given to abut great body. The country went on prosperously, but if the paper circulating inediuin It id brim withheld, Great Britain would, by this tinie, have been a province of some foreign power. He confessed, although his near relation was upon one of the Coinmittees Irma a hick the reports bad issued, he Was for from agreeing in them. The meeting well knew the accommodation alliwded by paper, and be bud no hesita tion in declaring, (lint the country was, .;11 Ilia opinion, through 411 e lowans of that circulation, in a better stain than it had enjoyed before the struggle for the liberty of the world. (Disapprobation, mixed with applause.) Ile then moved a resolution, stating, that if Government forced a cash medium upon the politic, the intert.sts of curniuer.e, would he highly prejudiced. Mr. Atli mid, a Bruirr, of Birmingham, seronded the resolution, in a keg speech, which he read from a paper, nail which some cried oat be had copied from the disenise Post. Mr. Inglis, of Mark-lane, began to rend a Petition, hut the note w as so deofeaing, we could tint catch a a mut of it . Mr. Cha►les Pearson opposed the ressoluit ions, and referred the meeting to the GlNzet te fur intelligence on the ta!tjest of paper circulation. Ile moved an amendment to this elieef:— .. That such arbitrary power, as that of issuing a paper me dium, might nst be permitted in any mercantile country, inastuuch as metallic currency timid tat give, esen to Sovereignty itself, that power, and therefore ought to be abolished. That it was therefore high' time to ru turn to metallic currency, as the only means of saving the country from impending ruin." Mr. Weirder seconded the umendment. He said the whole boainess was a quarrel beta Pen the Bank and the Govern nwnt. Ileand his frituals had been tercuseclaf out approvirg the proceedings of Cuirersiment ; but they looked upon the proceeding us an attempt upon the part of the Bank to pre vent the resumption of Cask Paynteirts, and would support the measure, although one which had groan up under the hands of Ministers. 'I he country was now on the Bo esholil of the loss of its rights. It bul given them up cite by nit , and Wils now callrJ upon to give consent to the taking out of tamuntission of lunacy ate:Unit it. As to t he conduct of the Legi.lni ore, he fat e them credit for sincerity, and believed they would pct the Bank to pay cash in a certain time. But a hat not. the arg tie:dust the resumption of Cash Pit) arenas—merely that it ought nut to take placeillifil it was constituent to the body. That time, he assured themecting, would never ulnae. The Bunk had fattened on the palate like hogs on blond oxen , acd alien th•e were glut.ed mole blind oxen were supplied to them. They had even bullied the Government, and seemingly promised to resume Cash P.asineuts when Government paid their debt to that body. The Bank were never sincere. T hey never a mild he able to perform a hat they had infrequently promised. Mr. N outer concluded with fading the utteMion of the meeting to the system pursued by the Bunk in the punishment of those MY victed of forgery. Major Torrrnsapposed the Amendment. Excessive tales had, he said, banished trade and commerce from Holland. If great rare was not taken they would have the sane Oh et in this country. The price of gold was five per cent above its valne, and nrcourse the resainplitm.ar cash 'MIN mew.: would make a addition to the taxes of 5 per cent. Betides. the present circulating meditan enabled fanners to employ inure leboorers. lie w as decidedly against the plan of soh. slituting gold bullion far rain, as bars were more liable to be carried out of the (Wintry, and tin re war a heavy penalty attacked to the proctice of taking away the coin of the realm. Me. Hunt appeared amidst loud cries of " O. Off." Ile said he would mit trouble the friends of the Bonk if they w4u141 coos. lit to pa v a tow not,•s which he and Itta friends had in cash. suppm trd the Anienduant amidst UprOill%. Mr. Lon e also supported the Amendment. Mr. Owen, of Lanark, said the question was helween the upper and the lower coders of the people—whether the for ister bhos.lJ have the menus of eniplo it% the latter or not. re le exist. fl not a doubt of the necessity of restriction in the 'ear 1991. The necessity had increast d. It was in fact initimoible for the Bank ever to re.urn to. Cash Pay ments. There was not in the wivile world specie ennugh to pay the innoeuse issue of notes. lle sappersed on those grounds I he so limit resolutions. ... Mr. Low odes spoke sa fay . our of the orieimil revolutions amidst loud eiits of question, and other evidences of imkosticnce. A ,•hrh of handli WA% made upon both mieFtione.—lt appeared to a• to he decidedly in favour of thr amendment. Chairman stated, that the majority acre for die . . 10 , -4'1014 164 L,Vimori•a 1047700;) re; .1.1%1 AWL *st. «L: Se vet of•sit Lahti ieratvroD vturt* , :i tcz