The Statesman. — London, England, 1822-06-13 00:00:00

. • I . II • hail I.u.se s cntieinen ei h-r there or elsewhere, end in supporting the motion of the Hon. Member, be should not hind himself toany propositions , that might be inconsistent with the honour or the justice of the country. Mr. IL GURNEY bad no hesitation in declaring his opposition to the amendment of the Right Hon. Gentle man, because it • as impossible to say how soon circum stances might call amen the house to annul such a reso lution. Mr. LEYCESTE:R supported the motion for gaitg into a Committee. He protested against any attack upon the Diriilend 1 or upon Mr. Pesl's Bill, but he thought it ought to be followed up by economy is the public expenditure. Mr. HALDIMAN D opposed the motion. He defended , the conduct of the /tank, and said, that while it paid its cores in g old there could be no pretence for charging it With unfairness towards the public. Mr. RICARDO sold it was impossible to calculate ' the exact amount of oepreciation which hail taken place under the Bill of 1819. He cooed not, however. agree with the lest speaker in Lis opinion of the conduct of the Bank. By the Bill of 1819 they were not bound to pay full in eatansellthe year 'MS; and for a given periodlmmedi ately preeiding that year they were by that Bill hound to pay their uotes in bullion. Bad this plan been adhered to, the resumption of cash payments might have been et fected with comparative ease; but the Bank made con siderable purchases of gold very prematurely, and did not at the same time Increase its Issue*. Their not doing so, had caused the pressure to be much greater than it otherwise would hove been. It hail indeed been argued in their favour, that at the time when they ensile these purchases, there was murk of unfavourable public opi - of the nameroos men -41f. notes, prevent 1/. notes re of this their con ies custom the first in- J. He could ee the speech declared that A. and who heer.)— his own opinion. __ forgive his doing so. He had been arraigned for his sentiments on the 'object of depreeiatiou as applied to the effect of the Bill is question. The term, •t depreciation." had, be thought, been greatly misunderstood. He would pet a familiar instance on this point : If the sovereigns were to be clipped so as to take off a teeth of their weight, they would be depreciated ; but as the demand for gold might from many causes be afterwards increased, it sit; ght happen that lbw clipped and depreciated sore reiges would become of greater *slue than they bad been before the clipping ; but still, however, they would be r elated upon a comporisen with tins valet which they would possess, had they not been clipped. He agreed that there were very massy caws which ope rated to affect the price of gold; but the gold of this country was no mere liable to 'the Whence of these causes, than the gold of other countries. Upon this sub ject, when the Bill of 1819 was first before the house, be had said *halals measure could make a difference in the price of goods of not snore than 5 per cent.; but he then spoke of the influence of the cries then in existence, and of their probable effect. It could be supposed that be pretended to exclude the influence of other causes sot thee under coosideratioe. To shew that this was his meaning. he would, with the permission of the house. refer to the pamphlet be hid first published on the subject. He had there in substance stated, " there is no possible remedy against the ordinary variations of the standard; and there is no doubt that numerous cir cumstances may contribute to vary it in an extraordi nary degree. as go'd and silver are of a very variable nature, as signs of value, but after all they form the best standard," and so on. He really had to apologise to the house for troubling them with matter of per sonal nattier ; but on this question, he considered that h • was ; I ced o; on his trial.—(Hear, bear, and a laugh.) The plan he had recommended had not mes adopted. When the Bill of 1819 went before the House, he had distinctly stated that the object in view should be gained very gridually. Ile had said that the Bank ought to reduce their issues very cautiously. and be feared they would retitle.e them too quickly. Above all, he recom mended them not to buy gold for a considerable time. On the contrary, he said were he in their situation, nod had he ever so little gold, he would boldly sell.—(Hear, hear.) tiering offered thus much in defence of his own opinions, be would address himself to the question im mediately under discussion. In the year 1819, at the time of the passing of this Bill, the financial affairs of the country were in the hands of a company of mer chants, respectbble, he admitted, but ig t, as he contended, of all the principles of currency.--.(A laugh.) The currency of this country had for many years preceding this time been in a very fluctuating state. In the year 1813 the Bank-note was worth no more titan 145., but in the year 1819, the time in ques tion. that note was at within five per cent. of its value, and bad been so fur the four years immediately preced ing. The question then was, which of the two stan dards the house should select. Ooe would be that at which the note was at the time the house was discuss it; : the other was the ancient standard. Had the de preciation at that time been as great as it was in the year 1813, he should have recommended the adoption orthe temporary standard; but the depreciation being so very trifling, he thought, and the house also thought, that under all the circumstance's, it would he better to retells to the ancient standard. That course he still thought was the wisest.—(Hear, bear.) Inder-1 the pressure which he anticipated as a consequence of the measure he could scarcely regret,' for it would teach is never again rashly to meddle with our currency.— T e first mischief was in the year 1797.—(Hear. hear.) 111:t had the Bank uedorstood the management of their own and the country's affairs, they might have contrived an as to withdraw all the paper without paying out a single guinea. It was the quantity which always regu lated the standard of value, not only with regard to gold , but with regard to all other commodities. Indeed, if Vie Mint were not open at the time in question. the Kink might snake their pound note worth two Sove reigns. lie had here to repeat, that he did not regret, anti he believed he never should have occasion to re gret the share he had in the Bill of 1819.—(Cheers.) — The Hon. Mover wanted to regulate the standard of value by the price of Corn; but this was a must varia ble standard. In support of his opinion, the Hon. Mover had quoted Locke and Adam Smith. who had made calculations with re -sect to the price of corn, and treating corn as the standard of value ; but these writers must have suppmed that money, the circulating medium wan invariable. If they slid slut so suppose it, their cal culations were not worth a farthing. Corn, he con tends d, was a much worse standard than either gold or sager. The difficulties in the way of treating corn as tl:e standard were obvions. There were different coati tie+ of land all over the country; and those of course tend to the production of different (panties of corm The increase of population, too, increased de-' wand, and the improvements in the mode of husbandry' all tend 4.1 to effect the value of corn. and to reader it therefore a most uncertain standard. Aslant Smith stated as a reason for treating it as a standard, that it was in such universal demand fur the support of man; but this circumstance had nothing to do with its steadt -.-.., 7 I • . I M, VI! M tit of I . 1 i oF in at hi it Ui if Pt , II A al to tl n II . k It a t t f . a T I ( I I I I t f i I I , 3 I t i I i I i i i 1 1 i . • i l' IL' i lc I. 0 Y , ' 1 1 I; ‘. ! . ) , I ' l i 1 , .. f , I • I • i 1 L ? : , t s i t f,-1, I ) •i 1 1 . • [ . 1 ! , , r. . noon expressed in conseqeence of the semeiow Bons which had taken place for the forgery of I/ and that the Bank ware therefore desirous to d p this species of for withdrawing their 1 from circulation. sot admit the force argument, or give ' t for th duct in this point ' have I plated the mere rgeer . in the stance. insareessarily increased their issues. H not, as he was proreeditie, forbear to notice the et the lion, Member (Mr. Leycester) who dechn he had no wish to see the Bill of 1819 touched, a yet would note for the present motion.—(Hear, I lie had to snake a few observations respecting I opinion. awl he trusted the house would Corp STATESMAN. public cap : toast. sad every private contract. we. gad , io a depreciated currency. and without any expecta tion of the change made in the standard. Much was said about t e immorality of altering the standard ; hu• those who had already done this could not now plead such an excuse. A parallel had been drawn be- twixt these times and the period of King William; bat newer were times more dissimilar. At that time there were four millions of good lawful money in circulation, and all went on till the depreciated money was discovered. And when this took place, the Government of King William. instead of protect lag this bad currency, passed laws to punish the fraud. Doeldes this, they called in the currency, and tick on themselves a sow coinage, and received the clipped miners in all payments to the T y. Was there any thing like this in the pr.sent day? On this sub ject. the famous dispute between Mr. Lowades and Mr. Locke took place; the farmer contending that silver had fallen in price ; and the latter, that it was the standard enrreocy. and not the silver that was de preciated. Mr. Lecke's opinion was, that it would be most unjust to alter the standard ; but we had done this twice. Mr. Locke contended. that hotb debtor and creditor should pay in the same currency. The Hon. Member for Portarlington wanted at one time to make the pound 14s. in value; and that was what his Hof. Friend (Mr. Western) wanted to establish ; for that gas about the value of the pnuud in depreciated es y. Such being the situation of the emery, Arm, called upon to perform its coott lets, entered epos in a currency of altogether a different value, use loca tion was, wheeler it was not imperative upon that House to institute some inquiry. or adopt some mesas of providing a remedy. The difficalty, bend. twitted, was great, and where to look for a remedy bie knew not.--(Hear, hear, from the Ministerial Herschel.) He thought those Hon. Gentlemen who were so ready with their " bears," ought to consider that the evils complained of were brought &hotel by them, and that they emelt to have cossidered before they introduced dm immure of 1819, what were likely to be the effects o f it. He did not sense the Right lion. Secretary (Mr. Secretary Peel) with the evils produced by the Dill of 1819. He admitted that he was as innocent as the lau.b &vowed by the wolf, of what had been done before the Winging in of this Bill, which now operated the evils seder which the coantry was suffering. Ose of tbe great evils of the time of King IVilliain was, that mean, had to go to market with a double currency , and mail !mowing the valise of their money. But then several laws were passed against those who were engaged intim amides' of bad mosey, and nothing like Bank Restric dos Acts. The remarkable contrast betwixt the tio- 1 sesplaget of this time and King William's, was in the loopethlog "item of raising money, heedless of the gogeequeaces, and al'ke carekse of the means, pursued by the present tiomronsent. He 'toped, therefore, they would draw no counteomme from that period. With re- Pixel to the motion of his Hoc Friend, he was not bound to assent to any one proposition of his, until be beard the opinion* of the wisest man on the question.— But be contended, that be bad acted most boldly, and most usefully in bringing the question forward. He did not see how the house could separate, after a great deal of useless debate. without any result upon the most important evil at present anicting the country. Some time ago it was the answer of the Noble Marquees op posite to tlps cry of distress that was raised, that it was owing time transition from war to peace. That was all very well at the time. The country Gentles/a received it as sound doctrine, and he did not name to say, that he blamed them for so doing. It was natural to lOok up to those who were at the head of affairs with some degree of confidence. and perhaps it was very fortanate that there was not a disposstioa to make amides changes. In this apology, he of course, did not include those whose coofidence was gained by gifts—a sort of memo dity said to blind wise wen . With that natural and ge nerous confidence be thought the Noble Marquees bad taken greater liberties than any other person ever did ; fur be so frequently brought forward gleesome without consideration, which he was himself the first to aban don. But the country Gentlemen began to be unde ceived when they foetid that this transition uccupied a period of seven or eight years. At one time distress was attributed to the importation of foreign core, and a Coro Bill, to remedy that. was introduced. But that would _not do, and for the obvious reason, that it was not agri cultural distress alone that prevailed. but the distress of all the productive parts of the cougnanity.—(Hear.)— It was absurd to suppose that the manufacturers could be in a tourishiog state, and the Agriculturist suffering. One class was employed in raising what the other mans fumed, and volumed to it again. The restriction upon the importation of foreign corn would be discovered to be a most unwise measure, and the Country Ueetlernea would at last understand that a free corn trade was most consistent with their best interests. It bad bee. clearly 'hewn that the evils which afflicted the Country arose from the alteration is the curreacy. His Hon. Friend bad done his duty in bringing the question of a total re peal of the Bill of 1819 before the boas*. sod be con tended that it was no answer to that motion to say that his Majesty's Ministers had made up . their minds on that sulsject. Perhaps they were wrong in the decision t h ey had now come to. That House was tot to be told be cause they had done a thing they would abide by it. If they had stood more in awe of that House, or if the house had exercised a more scrutinising vigilance over their actions. they never would have done it. lie did not care about stating his sentiments in favour of any specific proposition for relief. He was satisfied simply to consent' for inquiry. tie did not mean to say that the Bank was again to 'save the power of issuing its notes at its own pleasure. He did not blame the Bask Directors —he had no doubt they wen honourable moo. Their ' first duty was to take care of themselves. but that might be against the interest of the public. It would be more proper that Government should take into its own bands the issue of notes, and neither to withdraw nor issue be yond a certain point. But it was too important a trust for any set of men apart from the G mint to pos sess, with the power of playing fast and loose with the property of every person in the country. Ile believed the country could out go on in its present state. His Ma j esty's Government had by their acts placed it in its present situation, and if the Noble Wampum could not devise something to relieve it—if be was unable to see his way out of the labyrinth be had got them into, be ought to give sp his place. They were not to die under their burdens because it was difficult to find a mode of re lieving them. It was the duty of Goa. Members not to go to the country without baring adopted every possi ble mode to alleviate its situation; and he hoped the house would force lii' Majesty's Ministers to go into an inquiry in the expectation of finding some road out of their difficulties. Before he sat down, therefore, he must allude to whet he thought a very unfair exaggera tion of his Hon. Friend's argument. He alluded to the . which bad been made to prove that his Honour erientl had argued for corn being th e standard of Nrt u rreory. Such a mode of answering fair arguyaent uncandid at least, and certainly reflected cu any one 'lie lion. Friend. - - - Mr. HUSKISSON appealed to all vain bed beard him. whether he bad represeoted the Hon. Member for Ewe: to say that cora was to be the currency; I bat he maintained that be advocated corn being the 2i/swim'. All the Hon. Baronet's argnmeet aloe re lative to what be bad said of the time of King Wl. Han:, was a misrepresentation. What be had said was. that the pressare arose from similar ceases I. both in , evinces. i ISlirr. F. r n r l t ß o4 D .f g m h n is r: e r :, e P c ia u b i u . n t ed d i ;e e liv b e e n: a i n b b i y m e se bsi is q wi lf to eea unitive repo o horse ittpw w oborb h :ohn o ti"aa l u ‘i b'l lt er ef t opposedro r "o e ir of lth; o e f n cftpe decisi on l ti m hte e .ttihe c l o a7y n tt vit overlooked areg beforel tv i l a e d ew nh i taosotbi;yi same I a N t, the i s It :114: , was sures of his Majesty's liohernment. It was, that the Bill of 1819, for the restoration of tae standard of esp rency, was as monstrous in its injustice, as it was p i . in justice;t that her, it e re the tees.. we tre mo r in t n l m a e t nds h o m e ngn i et d a t hdo s s midst n o o t tb f : i rr t e i chteseutaheropprafraupdeotht: cause d r: 70 coney s , afos s t a u foie d e l o tto f thia: l b.d d i fidn i eue e a : ,,ana r e a nn e car l due e dt was to proceed to an inveotigation of the • involves! in the operation of that Bill for the of addressing the Throne. In this state of the * must be repugnant from the feeli ngs of everyone. * • h ap e p ar ra t i h w e a t by those who had twice violated that poblic faith.— I (Hear, hear.) That violation of public faith was the ard of value a estrens timp c e u a r n re d n y c i y ol w er k a h lt jert of the motion was to restore and protect pubic faith—to stand betwixt it and its violators, it wee leo mach to have public principle opposed telt. This mem sure had ruined the fortunes of millions, in enjeltlr sarriticing the security of property to maintaining as. broken contracts mutate in a depreciated currency; and he maintained it was the duty of that house to is what every Government ought to aO, secure the per *mace of contracts in the saute mousey in whieb they had bees entered into. He begged the house to coati. der the circumstances of the (vestry, and what ground there was for investigation; suet then leek at the preposterous amendment which had btu peo pled, pledging the home to es useless support of a measure so very disastrons.--(llear.) At this time we were in the midst of a long and profound peace.— The population of the country was most numerous, and possessing the most active and unrivalled qualities which were looked upon as time source of animal wealth. There was a large capital, and the laud of the country was quite convinced that although money was an estimate of wealth, yet that wealth was sot an abundance of mosey alone. Now, in this state of Also wearing so pro mising an aspect, the evil whieb illieted the coaatry was that they were obliged to perform existine ens- • tracts formed upon low money prices in a state of high money prices. The money of this country hail been estimated in commodities that gave a false estimate be tween one man and another. This measure of 18It gave the properly of one man to another-a-of the debtor to the creditor—of the tenant to the landlord—and of the landlord to bins who held iscusbrauces es his land. —(Hear.)—Would that House, therefore. cosset* to leave the public industry of the country so bunkum, by the public and private creditor ? They had wispeed what they called the ancient standard of value ie diction to the modem They had. however, about a fall in prices because they had haul recur every unheard of speculation rather than encounter question fairly and acknowledge the consequences er as act. The two great evils, is stated by the Hes. Member for Portarllngton In 1879 were, a too remised eat population and low wages. Sow it was over ealti ration. The lion. Gentlemen then went into rime statements to 'Low that the doeenatious In corn endow ney were nearly equal. Tie Committee of 1613 de clued that for a century preceding 1795 the average price of earn mules. ta. • quartet. The figuration in the metallic curtsey fee 50 years preceding wets foss 355. to 58e. and in corn from 70a. to Iles. and ISA/ Thus the declivities's is each were nearly the same/ — The price of the great staple articles of the country, iron, cotton, aid wool, wade! be fond on calculation to have fallen about 45 pet cent, being exactly .the eve rage of the fall is grain. During the successive years from May 1818 to May in the present year. the pnce of untied fallen in the proportion of 39 to 28. If WC lad bees laid out in corn us 1818, a loss would have bees mislaid of 55/. If the sameassoust had bees embarked is the perdue. of those articles the sante loss would have fol lowed. with the exception tab/. The cause of this mint be that those commodities had =screened in quantity, or that money contracted ; and be believed it would be admitted that it sea the diminution in money that caret be looked to. The Hon. Gentian's here entered into a statement inaudible in the gallery, to prove that the re• ducks"' of the *collating medium had been to the et tent one-fourth mulifth, and that the fall in prices had been equivalent to that redaction. The reduction of the notes in cirmalation from sisetees millions to fee:teen mikes, toebeesray Ave millions, which five mil lions had previa.* emstahted the interests of commerce and agricallare, and this at owe accounted for the ex isting distress. He sempleined of the mistificaties which bad bees practised is keeping this out of the view of the Agricultural Committee, wises every sort of se , mutat of wire, of snuff. to il f4:l4s, and tobacco, which had asking to do wid *,e had bees indention!y prepared to lay ImPktbem.' He traced the mess." which bad bees adaptii to elect a return to cash pay aunts. In the first luaus the Bank were allowed to try the experiment of payisg their small Dotes in cask. The Government sup keels* alarmed for the conse quence of this measure, and the standard of the war was restored. With it the war prices returned, but the prosperity consequent on this change bad scarcely been cash res ed sir whe to n us i t t ect w wi as dtedh a e go ur i: j... ,..in ns s beam this decitiotth but the noise that prevail eeff er eic , otin u wo d heni a ct „ re mo te:o w: to h e house made many of his remarks inasdklni!! . ..se gallery. Mr. WBSTKIIN spoke to .4 0- ler, and appealed to the house if it were poses: D i a for a &b a t e , as a sett pet so important, of Indeed on any subject. to he Wile mondoctel, if the no:se which had prevailed is the house shonld cone.nue. Mr. ATIVrtOD resumed. the effect of the measure in question...tad increased every debt in she coastry. It had the.:lared, that for every 601. owed Mkt Aug be N.V. It increased the public debt is like Mor t ' tier, and when calamities like these were the Cu, , " 4ueocss of a former measure, were they to suff, r any consideration for personal feelings to prevent dote from attempting to retrace their steps. The act of I t•l9 was the cause."( the present calamitous situatios of the country. It was a measure of the must room'. Janus iniquity that had ever been heard of in the hir tory of mankind —(liar.)—He repeated it, the me?.. sure was one of enormous iniquity. Dark anti OI• scare in its operation it wounded all classes while' tiler were unable to see wheucs the blow rater. a house would alnico' its duty if it refuted to impile into the means which might exist f..r diminishing evil. which was so severely felt, and for rsisiag rtes isenistry from its present melancholy and distrarler, Uatt. He proceeded to show slut hod been the MIL . . lbsuitasfacturen slue the Bill passed. He thee t u multoary meetings whole tad taken f . 11Auseakire, and the miserable eare to whicti the woe nese is value. The Hon. Mover bad stated many sir- CIIMULSKW* to show the variability of gold as a studard. Now be (Mr. It.) would say that It was ,particularly dif ficult to ascertain the value of gold by comprise oar demand for it with that of other countries. liar demand compared with that of the rest of the world MU at the rate of not more than one in meaty. Then the Hon. Mover bad entered into malty calculations. with a view to chew the steadiness of corn as a staodard. He (Mr. It.) wished, however, that the Honourable Member had made his calculations with respect to former periods. — (Hear.) -1D the year 1792, wheat was at as.; I. 1796, at 775.; in 1796 at 50s. (and it was to be reMombered, that all this time the cerrsaey was scarcely altered), end in 1801,118 s. tiers was a pretty tolerable variation. although the Hon. Member assumed the price a corn to be permanent. to the year 1803. whet the currency was more depressed, the price was 575.; in 1810, 1165.; and in 1814, 734. In short, the varistioas in the price of corn were infinite and consume. The price of dour at the beginning of 1801 was 124 e. • sail, and in the December of that year it was 725. In inta it was 52.. in 1894, 895., and 1819, 915., Here it would be area that the most considerable variations were within a short time of each other. The Hon. Mover had called upon the Members of that (louse not to resist his motion from any mistaken pride; he could assure the Hon. Member, that, if be knew himself. no such feeling inilosaced him on the pr--sent occasion; but be really had not heard or seen any thing to alter the opinion he held is 1819. The Hon. Member had relied upon the evidence of Mr. Tooke before the Agricultural Committee; hot Tooke had stated that the falling off in the ;triage( every commodity could be satisfacteSly accounted for. Here the Hon. Member had spoken of the loss mislaid by the country in consequence of the contracting of lambi s depreciated currency. This loss he calculated asesual le the price of wheat, but What had this to do with the Fends? During the American war the price of 3 per Cents. was at one time as low as 56, and it afterwards rose as high as 97, and yet the comae, was cot at all depreciated. But all these alterations to the currency mast f4ll upon one or the other of different contracting parties, and the object of the Bill of 1819 was to pre vent future irregularity by putting an sad to that which was then prevalent. Ile (Mr. Ricardo) had hoped that the question would be allowed to rest.—(Hear. bear.)— He was certain that if there was the remotest idea out of doors that the motion would be agreed to, the mis chief would be incalculable. The Bill of 1819 had he eonte mischievous, principally in consequeue of an ill founded alarm which followed it. That alarm-had now subsided, and the question was becoming settled.— (Cheers.)—One word more as to the amount of the de preciation. It bbleen rated by some at as high as 40 or 50 per Cent., but he had not heard a single plausible argument to spew that this was the use, Indeed no person could speak with any confidence as to the value et the currency.—(The Not. Member thou sat down amid uni I cheering, havieg declared his intention to vote against the motion.) Mr. H. GURNEY explained. Mr. PEIRSE spoke in defence of the conduct of the Bank. They bad not imported gold so much as they bad availed themselves of the Importations of fdreign aserchants. The Bank bad considerably benefitted the country by circulating between ohm awl ten millions of sovereigns. In the year 1813, the gold was at a high price is consequence of the demand occasioned by our foreign wars, bat at the termination of the war it bad be come plentiful. The Bank, however. Devetureld force its issues ; and he ventured to say that the Baok note was depreciated as referral to the price of gold. Tise term depreciation had been misapplied. The opi nions of the lion. Member were not to bonhomie for the conduct of the Bank; though No doubt the Uee tim ber was attached to his own plat abir paylketa bullion. Indeed the proposed lumps of gold had boss called Ili cardos.—(A. laugh.) Sir F. BURDETT thought his Hon. Friend, the Member for Essex (Mr. Western,) was entitled to great praise for the part he had acted in bringing for ward this motion. His own mind was made ap on the abject, and that being the case, his Hos. Friend was called upon to act as he bad dens in spite of all the ob stacles that might be thrown in his way, or the ail ficalties of the task. booking at the cause ens he had made. indeed, under difficulties which presentedibeum *elves to impede his progress is thecourse be had re solved to pursue; he offered an instance of the truth of the ancient saying—entitle remelt ewer palries. it the total disregard he bad manifested of difficulty in doing what be felt to be, under all circumstances, his duty. With that feelleg of the conduct of his Hon. Friend, he did think he had to complain of the Hon. Member for Portarlington lie the course of observation he had pursued, which seemed to him to hint a sort of disapprobation of that conduct. Ho stated his apprehensions that this motioa would pudic' • heated mete of the public mind. and altogether spoke of it in a way very unlike his usual candour, and very like the uncandid mode practised by persons sitting in another part of that house. He confessed be was the more sur prised at this in this Hon. Member. who, Whig a friend to free discussion, ought better to have appre elated the value of his Hon. Friend's manly conduct, in openly. in the face of all opposition, stating his firm conviction on any particular subject. The only way to meet his Hon. Friend was to 'hew that he oas wrong in attributing the causes of that distress in the country whict they all saw, and which he bad de scribed to the cause be had stated. The Hen Member (Mr. Ricardo) bad gone into long details on the prices of corn. hut it appeared to him that he had omit ted to draw from those details the only conclusions which ought to bare barer drawn from-fftem. -If it. were not the alteration of the currency which had produced the evils complained of then It most be some other cause, and none of the causes be bad quoted relative to corn would account for the ghettos stances of the country. The Hon. Member pressed upon them the distinction betwixt the depreciation and the value of money; bdt to come to a fall under standing with him be would put a case. He conceived that if one fifth of the circulating medium of a country were withdrawn, the effect would be to decrease the whole income of the productive classes one-fifth. Then supposing the gross produce of the agriculture, manu factures. and commerce of a country to be. what he considered that of this country might be. six hun dred millions, the withdrawrl of one-third of the cit.- culdtiog medium. would be, not to affect the price, but a loss upon all the productive classes of two hun dred millions. The mere matter of the money being lost was nothing; but here, were those Masser, with a lose of one-third of the means, called upon to pay all the hurtisens and debts, contracted and levied during a period of great depreciation . (Hear.)—ln his opinion.l it must be prodective of great destruction to the coon I try to coutinue such a state of things. It was , their duty then to look at this with eyes qf. policy as wr I as justice. But upon bobs growls :be pilaf opt them to redeem the s Gentry, from that presents. which neei-ted, it could not do itself. With respect to the justice of :be case,- he need only *Werke that ever!