The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1803-02-08 00:00:00

:, T WNW , ter ----.. from the Right Hon. the tent Mrie, Aldermen and Common Council of the City of London, praying for leave to bring in a Bill to enlarge the Matte/ of Smithfield. Referred to a Committee, The Sucsirrs of LosmoN presented a secofisi Petition from the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Com mon Council of the City of London, praying for leave to bring in a Bill for istablishinta Coal-Mar ket, in ortice to prevent a raotii,poly combination respefting that useful article, so essentially neces sary for carrying on the . diffe rent Maniifaanres in the cities of London and Westminster. Referred -to* Committee. W•••• ..... The Santa FS of the City of LONDON presented a third Petition from the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor, Aldermen and Common Council of the City of London, praying for leave to bring in a Bill for improving the Port of London, and of ap propriating certain sums of public money to that purpose. • . The CHANCELLOR of the ENCHEQUEII observed, that such money should be advanced only as a loan, and that provision tOr payment of in terest should be made by the Bal. Ordered to lie oa the Table. ORDER OF THE D.Y. A Petition from certain Electors of the Town of Drogheda, complaining of an undue election. r. BRAGGE said, the recognizance not hay jag been entered into, or the proper securities given Is the art requires in this case, he should move that the order be discharged.—Ordered Mr. WALTON presented at the Bar an account, from the Bank of England, of the notes of the Bank of England in circulation on the Ist of June, on the Ist of August of October and 11,..eember, 'lBO2, and on the Ist of Feb. 1803, distinguishing 'the amount of those below sL—Ordered so be laid - upon th? table. ' • Mr. ASTLETT presented an account of the re ceipt and expenditure of . five millions, from the Ist of January 1802, to the Ist of January , i 8.03, by the Ccmmissioners for the reduction of the Na- Canal Debt..-Ordered to be laid upon the table. RANK RESTRICTION BILL. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER rose, and speke nearly - as follows : “ Sir, I rise in pursoanee (.f a notice lately. given for me, by a Right Hon. Friend (Lord Hawkes .hury) during my unavoidable absence, to move for leave to bring in a bill for continuing the Act eau. restrains the Bank of England from paying is :peck.. Sir, I believe, that the House will do me the credit to suppose, that I move to bring in sulfa a Bill, at the present moment, with great regret aild anxiety; for, notwithstanding any fears that I may now express, I look forward with the fullest confi dence, and I ant most sincerely anaious for the ar rival of the moment when we shall return to our old course, and the Bank shall resume its former practice of paying in specie. Sir, in moving this measure, it is not necess.try that I should refer to the etieinal ground. It is not reccssary diet we phottl4.l consider whether it be now called for by necessity. I shoifel t'resinue, that no nobody enter tains a doubt en that head, or has the least idea that it i< a nccess - iry case. Still less, Sir, need I re fer to the suiliciency of the Bank, to discharge its cbligatior.s by payments in specie; for, with te epee t to the solidity and sufficiency of he Bank, I am convinced that there is we ,s partTele of doubt existing in the mind of any Gentleman who -hears me. 1 am perfatly aware, however, that many persons who doubted the expediency of the original measure, may feel great. doubt and &A cuity in. coming to a eesolution to discontinue the Bill; that they may have thottght the origi n:d measure unwise, but that having been once adopted, it may he wise to continue it. This was the case last Session. Many who thought the origi nal measure obieEtionable, were of opinion, that it would be inexpedient to take away the restraint im posed, and voted accordingly for its contieuance. The ground on which I moved the continuance of the restraint last Session was, that the difference of exchange was so considerable, there was a great crantity of specie going out of the country, mad lit tle or none coming into it. That state, however, has been much improved since that time. The ex change is nearly at par wilt Hmunburgh, but it is unfavourable with Amsterdam. The reason, how ever, still exists in sufficient degree to be felt by the House. No ingots, no bullion come from abroad. 1 should therefore ask cf Gentlemen, whether in the circumstances in which we stand it be. proper to al low country banks to issue small notes, for which payment will be deraanded in specie, should the re striction be taken off ? I ask, if it be fit for the Bank to be exposed to such demands, when there is no in flux of bullion, when none is likely to come from Amsterdam, and very little from Harnburgh ? Sure ly in such a state of things, every body must think it better to continue the restriction a little longer, than to take it off for a single day, at the risk of the evils which would be likely to ensue. It is then for the purpose of precaution. I introduce the measure. Ido not, however, wish to under-rate the inconveni encies that must attend the reaxklion, but still they are only inconveniencies, and the consequences .of taking off the restriction might be very. serious. I wish the restriedon to continue until we shall see the course of exchange steadily fixed. The cause., which led to its presort unfavourable state are not likely, I hope, to recur. We have had three years of scar city, during wilich reilli.eis of specie have beet; sent out of the country, for the purchase of corn. That is a drain of specie which, L may hope, without presumption, will not «cur again. I may be al lowed to hope so with the more confide-6,, as it i, a case unexampled in the history of the last two cen turies. There has been aLio a drain of specie in con sequence of large sums of mor.ey being sera out of the kingdom for the payment of our army and na vy in the several parts of the world. We have, it is true, a flourishing commerce, but it has not yet had the effete of bringing back the speck thus drawn Iron the country. When, however, we see all the reasons operating that are likely to produce a fa vourable exchane, I am. justified in hoping that such an event wi ll soon take place s and that the pe riod is not far off when the Bank may with safety resume its former operations. Sir, upon these grounds; I beg leave humbly to move, that the Ads of the 37th, 39th, aad 4`2d cf the present reign be read, and when that shall have I.een clone, 1 mean to rove for leave to bring in a Dill to continue said Ads for the suspending the pay -meats in .speck by the Bank, for a time to be lintel. Before I sit doom, Sir, I shall advert to what was urged last Ses sion, to flew that a Motion of this kind should be . 8..4 wit 'nylon - • '-t ~.YL". I . precedpsl by an enquiry.. I here already stated the ground aponeehieh I. people the continutuce of the restieNn. When that measure was originally pin e posed, doehu ind e tari were entertained respeeting • the selidity of the Bank. It became then: ore nes cessarv, upon that occasion, to shew its real state. —lt was also thought right to consider how far it wee, neceitserystiecontinue the Order of Cousitil re. straining payenent ill specie, but all that is necessary upon the present occasion, is to enquire the state of exchange. Now there iiim office in which this can be examined into and ascertained. It is a matter of general notoriety, and admitting it to be capable of examination in a Committee, it is scarcely a subject for a serious Report. As to the Country Banks, the House must be presumed to have cogniesance of them, as they were sanCtinned by its authority." Mr. TIERNEY.—" The Right Hon. Gentleman has truly stated, that many Gentlemen who had voted against the original Bill for restriCting pay menu in specie by the Bank, might be friendly to its continuance. lam one of that description, and T do confess I am open to argennent upnn the subjs.% of whether it be or be not a fit measure, an/ dee. I have not made up my mindh upon it ; but as to the latter part, I mean how far a Committee of In quiry be a necessary proceeding, I entertain a de- ' cided opinion, and shall therefore take the liberty of k s. y lig a few words respeeling that point.—Sir, how ever frivolous it may seem in the eves. of Gentlemen grown familiar with the stoppage ache Banle—hew ever loosely they may talk in cenimen conversation of that which was at first considered as little less than a prodigy, I do think that there cannot he a more important question, nor one requiring more serious deliberation, than whether we eheithi in this particular ease return to our former penttice, or whether the whole system is to be reversed. give, !weever, no opinion upon its merits, but I want to have the reasons recorded urn. the Jew nals of the House. If there-be any questien• irr which mere words are not to be relied upon, it is the pre. sent ; because it is one not generally understood, or to which Gentlemen are apt to turn their attention. I Tmppen to know front a case within my own expe rience, that t!:c course of exchange is at present •asainst this. coentry, and therefore I cattoot doubt rte accnracy of the Right Hon. Gentleman's state meat in that particular; but the Right Hone Gen thman's words may be lost, they may not go down to posterity, and therefore the reason should he re corded in a manner that may ensure its being here e after known. The Right Hon. Gentleman thiliks this simple fad of the exchange all the groundwork necessary to be laid for his measures k think, how ever, very differently, and that much more is rce" quired. There has been no report _of the Bank proceedings for nearly six years. We do not know what it is doing- - -what it has done in that interval, or what operation the stoppage has had upon the pecuniary concerns of the Country. I think it must have had an operation, and that it should he investigated by a Commiexe. The only greinul stared is, that the e xchange is nearly at par, and upon that alone. the Bill is moved for. But I deny ad mitting that to be the fact, and that the state of exchange is a. ground. I admit that the Right Hein. Gentleman has brought forward the measure with pain and reluctance, as he has stated.. I believe also that some time ago, and that not very far back, he Wit not even in contemplation. I think if such an eilletrlankdreerreentig in his Twine', his respect for the I louse, and.his anxiety to give it the earliest notice, would:have induced him not tiV n ithold eelf communication of his intentions in that paseular, until a time when there arc only twenty-ere clays of the present Act to expire, and consequently only so much time for the present measure. I think therefore that it was not dictated by his own sense; but that it has been suggested by others, upon rea sons that he may yet disapprove. The circumstance ef the Exchange being nearly at par, does not carry money out of the - country. There is now no danger of invasion. There are nn foreign ' pr domestic politics to interrupt the regular course of our pecuniary proceedings, ou any al ledged difficulty on the part of the Bank to resume its payments in specie. Nothing of this kind is al hedged, and yet we ere now called upon to pass this monstrous Bill.—Are the Bank Direetors ready to open with payment irt specie, provided they have the permission of the Legislature ? Let us then sum mon thein to answer, whether any danger is to be apprehmaled from their resumieg their former prac tice ? As Ido not wish to throw out any reflec tions, or doubt the word of Gentlemen, I must pre sume, that the Bank is in a state that it could re sume its payments in specie with safety ; but stitl have a right to enquire particularly into that point ; and I am the more disposed to exercise that right, because the Bank Directors, on a former occasion, went beforehand with a resolution of their own, stating, that they were ready to resume payments as usual, if allowed to do so. I ask them, whether we should not have the same information now ? The Right lion. Gentleman has not stared all that the Report of the Committee upon the Rank con tained. Among other things, it mentioned, that the bullion in the Bank had at the time encreased five-fold, and from one million was swelled to sir millions. Now if there be bullion iu the Bank to that amount, am I not to have the satisfaCtion• to know it ? and how can that he obtained without an enquiry? And are the Bank Directors afraid of a run upon it under such circumstances ? But the course of exchange, in my triad, furuishes the strengeet et/gement against the measure, of , Which it tentacle the sole founthition t for there are many respectable and well-informed men rho say, that as long :is the restriction continues, the ex change will he kept down. Ido not assert that we should be hound by this opinion, bet it certainly is en titled to respect, considering the number and de scription of the individuals by whom it is enter tained : rtiereosoer, what reason is there that the ex change will be worse, if the restriction be taken off? The Right Hon. Gentleman has not given any. On the contrary, he has given reasons why it should be better. In his financial statement, in the begin ning of the present session, he estimated a surplus revenue of one million for the present year, and of two millions for the next year. Here, then, is an Admission., that for the last two years, the Bank has no danger to apprehend. But is it right to continue the restriction upon this single ground ? I should think not—For whenever there is a fall in the ex. change, there will of course be a run upon the Bank for specie. People will therefore think, that i what has happened once may happen 'again, and consequently speculate upon a stoppage. There are points which I might urge, but it is not ne cessary to enter into detail, as the Right Ho- s ;:s.t • a" nourahle, Gentleman relies . upon the single mart h of the Fetal i I therafore only trou ble tier Ifeuse th just a word more. Tie Bank •DireEfore ie . snieeilling to do 'any the& for the I;Cnetiterthe , that pets them to er pence. It may, I admit, be very - expensive for them to buy up bullion for the use of the kingdom, but consklering the great benefit which they have enjoyed foe six years past, at the expence of the peo ple, it would be no great matter of accommodation, if they should do something now at their own. ex- ' pence for the benefit of the public. But if this Bill be pressed, it will be a matter of convenience for the , Bank Directors. In my conscience Ido not believe there is any one of them who thinks that the state of exchange is a sufficient reason for one hour's delay. The Right Hon. Gentleman may shake his head [The Claneel7or of the Exrbeauer 51i0 , 4 lir lead at if he thouzht otherw.er.] but I wish to know who the Direehor is, that will say so in a period of profound peace Li:e the present, and in the absence of all ' threign and sinniestic politics of that kind, that could embarrass or impede our financial operations ? I say then with confidences that there is no one Bank Direeior who will maintaia such a position. I am sure it v, ill be seen, that we owe something to the country, for the purpose of removing those ; which the- stoppage of the Bank must have inspired. ' There has Been much writing upon the subjeft, and a variety of opinions have been propagated, .from whence it is the more necessary that the truth sheuld be ae-erteined. One gentleman has written a book, entitled, " The Inipdy of Banking." Ano , r has writ7en a book, entitled, 66 Guinea: as Is reeibraser-" Subjeet a: it is to this diyersity .of °pint on. never teas there a question so fit for a Committee. 1 There ate few whose opinion would carry so much b weight as the Omahas:ea of the City ; and if a Committee were appointed, they could state to it the cause, the effat, feelings and consequence of the measure, in all its hearings and relations.---le has been the fashion. to lament the absence of a Rigli Hun. Gentleman, whom I am sorrow I have not now the pleraeere to see in his scat i,Me. Pitt). Whatever our political differences may have been, I have always heard him with euisfaelion. 1 wish • he was hew, because I think I should-find imitative powerful ally. Some say he will be here, some that he will not. The Right Hon. Gentleman (the Chancellor of the Exhequer) may shake his head,• but that is all the information we are likely to receive upon the subt. I repeat then that I have a right to think he would be my powerful ally on the present occasion, became when he brought forward the measure now proposed to be continued, he thought it necessary to give a detailed report. I hope, however, that before the Bill shall be passed, that we shag' have the benefit of his presence and assistance. I mean to make no Motion, though' I should like , to del so, did I know how I could do it with effect. The course there fore which I should propose, would be to agree to Bill fve two months, In order to allow time to. en. quire how far it may be necessary to. continue it. i do not wish the doors of the Bank to be immediately thrown open, and the: every holder of a Bank Note should tome and be paid in gold; but all I wish is that we shotthe proceed deliberately, and above all that there shoUld he an enquiry. If such enquiry were to take place, 1 am convinced a great mass of eee e nee. ,evensld be brought to lightes— The Cc., Y has certeilely a claim upoa us fur Jilt evidence, be, e, it will shew whether the meastroi he really s iseeteit or not ; but at all events we should n• : sespected of adopting .a measure .of such mag;iituee without weighty reasons. Many insinuations have been thrown out in writings against the Bank, and in justice it should have an opportu ' nitv of clearing itself. ' Without, then, a cautious and deliberate proceeding, such as I have reconi mended, •we are more likely to be called the blind accomplices of the Bank, than the vigilant guar ! diens of the public purse." Mr. FOX. ehe Chancereer of the Exchequer has told the House, that he firmly looks forward to the season when the restriction of the Bank from.pey meant in specie may be taken off without any disad vantage to the country. He states, that the single and oyily reasen for wishing to continue this restric tion is, that the state of Exchange is against us ; so that the case before us is to be considered as a gene ral, not a particular one; whenever the like cause happens, the like effect will follow ; and it will be come it general maxim, and not peculiarly applica ble m the particular circumstance of the present in stance : that whenever the Course of Exchange shall happen to he againt us, either through the exporta tion. of bullion, or the insufficiency of the importation of it,or any other effect, the cause of restriction would become general. He, thought there were opinions upon this subject highly necessary to be brought be fore this House. He did not mean to arraign the conduct of the 'Directors of the Bank : he thought they had acted perfectly honourable. They had, alreadj vinie forward, and declared their sufficienere and readiness to commence their payntents in specie, if there Were no political objections to the measure ; and this House ostglec to enquire whether there really existed any, and what political objections, ei ther of convenience or advantage to the - conntiy, ' which could render a suspension of the measure ne cessary foe any longer timo. He entertained ..sio suspicion of the sufficiency of the Bank to make good its payments, and he firmly believed that it was owing to the upright viaduct of 'the Directors, that the restriction had not beeferif as bad coasequences as it might have been. He conceived that the pro ' per steps for Min:eters to take, would be to institete an enquiry into the inconveniency of taking off the restriction, and he, for one, would vote for a proper time for such enquiry ; or, if the inconvenience were apparent, he asked the House, whether there might not be some arrangement, such as by paying a part in cash,.as indeed he had been informed the Bank did upon small diyideads, or sonic other gradual system discovered of lesening this inconvenience ? Mr. Tierney had said, that the Bank would not serve the country where there was any loss to itself'. He, for his part, did. not see why it should. He had heard that in 1772, when a great deal of bad mo ney was circulating in this country, the Course of Exchange turned greatly to its disadvantage ; but that upon a subsequent arrangement, when the coin became better, the Exchange turned more in favor. This was exactly the present case ; our coin was had then, our paper is so new ; and, in all probability, the immediate effect of taking off the restriction from the Bank, and restoring pay meats in specie, would be to render the Course of Exchange incur favor. \ellen he heard that bullion was scarce and paper plenty, the fair inference he drew from it was, , that the former wls dear, and the Tatter cheep; and it was , a fact, that in- many parts of the kingdom it was usual to- give a premium for guineas, which must, of course, depreciate paper r and whilst paper, the common currency of the kingdom, was under value, the Course of Exchange must be against us. He thought it very strange to say, because the Courses( Eachangewas against us, the Bank should be restrained fonn making specie payment ; be cause, if this restriction lasted long, the Bank might, without the knowledge of that House, put itself out of condition ever to pay in specie. Mr. BANKS had not heard it said what limits. the bill was intended to have. If the restriction was to be for more than a very short space of time in deed, it concerned the credit of the country that an enquiry should be instituted, and that it should be no longer kept in this unusual' state without very sufficient grounds. He did not know whether it was the intention of the Hon. Member (Mr. Fox) to make any motion in this busineis ; if not, he should take the task upon hiinself; a s he thought it his dut y to oppose the restriction from being extended for au* considerable time. Lord HAWKESBURY said, that it appeared to him, that the only question which could arise upon the present subject, was respecting the period of time with which the blanks in the Bill were to i.e filled up. Fot hi; part, he thought that a period of time should be inserted, sufficiently long to give time to a Committee to make an enquiry situ the situation of the afFairs of the Lank. He agreed with his Right lion. Friend (the Chancellor of the Exchequei) that the measure of restricting. the Bank from payment in specie, was perfectly neces sary at period in which it was iutroduced ; yvt, looking at the circumstance, without any reference to a particular situation, it was greatly to be re-4 retied, that the . eipediency 'of it "4844 ever hart arisen, and every person must look anxiously fur ward to the time when things would be restored! to the usual form. The question appeared to him to stand thus ; and he would ask whether, after having imposed this restriction, continued it so many years, and erperienced no inconvenience whatsoever resulting from it, it would not be wise to pause before it was all at once thrown off, and to look forward to that period of time, when no di-- adeatuage could possibly result from it ? The greaa exportation of bullion for grain, during the list. three years, -the retail importation of bullion 'dur ing the war, and the. very heavy expence attending Our numerous iiimotarid arrhies in all parts of th e glolte..ll,ad nearly - drained the country of specit . .„ and turned the Comic of Exchange rather alainst.• it; but if -tit were only tee rennce the last sir moths, lit would be found that we had been daily taint i ng gre.und ; Ca tt 'at Nessus, the Course of • xclrange was at par, and would, probably, be , 515151 r in. Our Layne...lid wdutd ask Gentiernen, - if the restrieti, - n be takn. off; .v . .-11114 they choose nn • tinfa - voutable period, or would they - wait until thitrs lexti a battrr- aspect ?. As Uri Course of I'..ciurage turned against ns by uncommon causes, road• un f.-n-esen events,' he could not conclude, .that it was fair to hurry the business at this period of time, when, from a comparison of last month only, wittx any one preceding month, it: was impossible not to conclude, but that a' More favourable . period was advancing. No well-groun d doubts could be en tertained respecting , the sutfi ency of the Bank to answer al its engarnaents ; refore, of what service would be in tircpury into tit *tuation of its atTairs ?' it would only jiltovel, the c se of sin useless and groundless 'alarm. rrZini t. epa ors which the Bits* .of Ellerin . .. le, re%pecting - tl-Sir.'h./Tairs; elleaniaa . liad Id "oppor twiny of. aaert Aining,..4.4i the Rank had, in sin shape, taken any undue advantage of the restric tion from paying in specie, by issuing more paper than it could answer. •If they looked at the Course of Exchange, only one year ago, when the: stoppage . of the Bank existed equally as at present, and tiled considered the improvement of the Course of Ex change, since that short period of time, which, front being considerably against us, was now at par, it would be very easy to diacein;that a short space of time would bring with i; a, more favourable oppor. tnnity than the. present, of taking . off the restrio‘ tion from the Bank, and suffering it to return to it; former customary 'mock of making payments in specie. As to the period for which the restriction should be continued, he thought the proper thee of discussing drat point would he, when the blanks, left in the Bill for that purpose, should come to be filled up. Sir FRANCIS BARING supported the motion, which he justified, not on the grounds of necessity, but of precaution,' propriety and wisdom. lie was sorry to hear some expressions which occurred i. 4 the debate, respecting the ability of the Bank to pay in specie, of which there could be no doubt. Aa to the course Or ex change, the present question of restriction did not depend on it, but rose out of ex traordinary circumstances, at .its original adoption, which it was prydent to continue fora certaintinie. No person leaked forward with more pleasure than he did for that period, when the Bank may wits safety respire its payments: But while the conti nient can get silve:r7from all parts, it can get gold only from London; it : was therefore necessary to restrain the issue emit. •The Hon. Baronet spoke in so low 'a tone of voice, we could scarcely hear him. The CH A NCELLO R of the EXCHEQUER flit himself called upon to say a few words, in answer to what had fallen from. an }lon. Gentleman, (Mr. 'rierner) who said he believed it IA ..,s not originally his intention to move a further to iffion on the Bank. He acknowledged to have- 1!-al. a hope of avoiding the measure, and would • - 1. , 4 alx....iined •- .. from it if possible. The Hon. Gentlernanexaairis taken in supposing the course of etchange,the t . ,:. ground on which this motion is founded. In con sequence of the restriction, Country Banks were permitted to issue a great number of small n....es ; and the resumption of payment would occasion the calling in of those notes, and a heavy run on the: Bank, at a time when no bullion was imported. It was not, therefore, owing to the course of exchange alone that the measure was proposed • if so; it would be open to the remark of the Hon. Gentleman, that at any future period the course of exchange would be the ground for a similar restriaion, but it wa,s owing to the run on the Bank which a resumption of payment would occasion. Theexportatioit of specie would require a circulatingmedium to fill up the void, and the run on the Bank would bein proportion to the exportation. An Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Fox) men, tinned the necessity of a moderate issue of spe cie, in exchange for small notes, like the issue of thic small dividends. it would then be net ssary to riF . . . . . . . . . R' 0 t V' 'l