The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1810-04-24 00:00:00

wholethat wu annually exported, in time of peace, au France. Flanders, Holland and Germany. • . . The Haute will see, in the evidence of Hr. Irving, much information, fur the purpose of shewing that all our principal articles of export, particularly these which consist of British manufactures, are greatly under-rated in their value. as well as Many capital articles of import. Coffee is the only mate rial article which appears to be over-rated iu the books of the Inspector-General ; it is more over rated on exportation. thau on importation.—The valuation. upon which the accounts of the limper tor-Generel are founded, was settled in the year 1696 or 1697, when the prices of all these articles were greatly inferior to what they are at present. sad before our nuusafactures had received the im provements which have been made in them of late years, so that the real value of both our imports and exports. particularly 'of the letter. is certainly considerably higher than is stated in his accounts. The House will also i.ee many excellent observa tions, in the evidence of this gentleman, for the purpose of correcting the amours of taking the true balance of our trade.—lie olistnres, that, in forming this balance, many articles of import are stated as unfavourable to this country. who► they are, in fact, accessions of wealth, such as the pro dare of our various fisheries, and a cousiderable tart 4 the inspects from our poseessious in the East and West ladies. The whole of the produce 4 these fisheries is certainly an accession of nat•- ooal wealth. Su much thereof as is imported di rectly into this country. must be considered as els iceman of stock to it : the value of such parts as are seat directly from the fishing places to foreign estuaries, and sold there. is either remitted iu bills of exchange. which is wealth ; or it is laid out in she purchase of commodities, to be imported into this country. which is an increase of stock. This produce is procured, not by any wealth sent from this country, but by the adventurous enterprise of Our fishe.rineu: end the value of such produce, when it is sent directly from the fishtag places to foreign countries, cannot appear in any custom house account, to like manner, a considerable part of the iarports from the East and West ludits ought not to be stated, in the Aslant.e of our ems metre. as unfavourable to this country, portico- Intly such parts of the investments in the East In dies as are purchased by the revenues of the Bri tish settlement• there; as well as those parts which are inspected either-from the East or West Indies, for the purpose of stunning private fortunes ac. quired there, or as the incomes of persons. who, having estates or mortgages in the West Indies, re. side awl spend their sueomes in Great Britain. The value of such part of these imports so is re-ex po►ted, will appear on the export sale of the ac count, and serves to Wanes the value of the same article*, as stated on the import aide ; sod the whole of the mercantile profit, which they leave behind. is in itself a considerable accession of wealth to this kingdom. tnat cannot appear in the custom-house *crowns. Mr. Irving has delivered k as his opinion. ►hat the true Wiese, of our trade amounted, on * me dium of the row yesr* prececiiug January 1716, to upwards of 6,400,n001. per miouns, exclusives( the prabts arising lima our List sad West ludic trade, which be estimates at ispnerds of 4,000,0601. !ter anauni s and esdas►vr of the profit* derived from oa► beheries: Bat whatever encertaioty may still remain. io forming as initimati of the true balance of our coin mem in say particular year, the accounts of the Ihispector•Geseral of impwts and exports, serve at least to afford a pad comparative state of the ataneut of sue commerce ht different years ; fnr it is fair to presume. that the defects are uot greater in the accesses of cot year. than of soother. Chest, however. as this bslaace of cummeree may appear, it would have bees still greater. in a very . eausidiraide &pee, bet frem the unusual marcity of psi% winch mode it necessary both for OrwevisillOat sod iadividasla to import large gain tides of grain for the relief of the inhabitants of this kingdom. In as accents' delivered by Mr. Claude Scott, en emicesit eisro.factee r it appears. that, far the three years preceding the sth of Ja nuary. 1797, there were paid to foreign countries. for grain imparted into this kingdom, the following MOP, 11,11. he t 794 I. sltts I■ riega 1,943,646 . 10:er..671 a,y26,444 impaled 7,440uil int, bp eslimateil by ler. &mitt, be h airbleses babire Moe Gamorttee 1,5044000 Toad . i.. embers This balance of CIIIINIefte warn also rendered has favours*, by the great sums paid for naval stores daring the war, beyood what are usually paid in tiariof issane. It appe.iro by an account presented by the Cousaksionen of His Majelay's Navy, that the value of naval store- iinportedou account of His Majesty's Navy, in the four years previous to 1797 : aoseataltis - L. 7,5g3,576 And is the Ikea psis pre aft, 17113. Nk o6 ited so t,f.0111,119 Fives., I. i~JJ:hi 71 Awl it s by ma seamen pee. eistal,2t i reeseeet at bids Mae as lbs Cearsaisaisaars ter Virieel liae he fareirra ports, fa ilbe four years maw the Sib J Jeasery, fisrprbat Urry siaeltated lu . . L. I,3osyjil Aid Is N. rear years ced ing tist eor issuer', 1711 be 34,6e9 1, tf ~,:yJ Tidal Ewen - L. 6,41iii,0z9 nimbi! cassia be doubted that the balance of our 'rode, ewes with three dethectieuw. WOO have brought great wealth. in various articles of eon,- nitres.. iota this kitigdoni. and that miasma (pound , ties of foreign merchandise oust, iu consequence tlis:reof. have be a deposited iu it; yet it may be doubled, whether it brought so great a quantity of the precious metal to be converted into coin. as In former periods; for it appears i.e the evidence of Sir John Hort, who was 111% Majesty's Cowil- Ge0..r.1. iu Porin,ol, (or 29 years, and of Mr. an easine.it inercliont. that the isooriation of gold and bilvi-r bull on, front Lisboa, iuto this itingdmu, has beet, less than .t was foruseJly: and that the exchstn t e between I. b: itad Leaden, which mid furunirly to be g catty lu . • favour of Loudon, has of late, from a varlet ) of circumstances, been eomct►mes in favour of, anti sometimes against this couotry, and for the tart three years more farina this moor! than in its favour. from causes which are fully explained in the evidence of those Gentlemen. Mr. Whitino:e adds, that the quantity of ,liver which has of late been imported, has greatly exceeded the quantity of gold. Bat as the Mint price of silver bullion has been, during nearly the whole of the present century, considerably less than the market price of this precious metal, the aitver bullion so imported could not be coin erted into coin, but after having left a 'timothy sufficient for the use of our manufac tures, must have again been exported, and did not contribute in the s►uallest degree to augment the coin of this kingdom. The accounts presented by the officers of the. mint, of the quantity of bullion coined in the la,t four years, sbew that the r imutity corned at the mint, in 179.5, amounted only to 493,4161, and io 1796 to hich is not more than a sixth of what was brought to the mint to be coined in the two preceding years, and greatly inferior to what had been coined upon an average of the former year. of lie Majesty's reign. By am account presented by Mr. Irving, of the quantity of bullion exported from this country, from the year 190 to 1796, boils inclusive, it ap pears that the quantity of gold bullion exported, on an average. iu the four last years, being yesre of war, is not a third of what was unourlly exprrti:d, on an average, in • the three preceding ycons of peace; and that the quantity of silver bullion ex ported in the four last years. bring years of war, is al.° not a third of what wasluaimally eaported, ou an arrive, in the three prrcedtug years of peace; and this account revives a certain degree of confirmatiou frow the accounts delivered iu by the East Lidos Company, of the amount of Spanish dollars exported by the Company, or permitted by the Company to be exported by private persons, which prove that in the last three years the amount of Spanish dollars exported has been less than used. The Committee wished to throw further light on this subject, by obtaining an account of the amount of gold and silver coin or bullion imported into this kingdom in the before-meutioued periods; but they And that. by a law pissed in the Isth year of the reign of Iles late Majesty Chides 11. chap. 7. sec. 13. coin and bullion are exempted from entry at the Custom-house, on i►nportatioa into this kingdom, so that the officers of the customs could nut produce ao account of any such importation. There are, however, other cirainastances in evi dence before the Committee, which may have COW tributed to render hen perceptible, hitherto et least, the aglvaatiges arising (loot the influx of wraith into this kingdom, in consequence or ■ favourable Warier of trade. It was oh-erved by Henry Thornton. EN. (awl it is indeed Melt-evident), that in proportion as the commerce of this country 'increases, • greater capital is necessary for car irigit on ; and also; that any given quautity of commerce, in tiine of war, by the increased expenses of freight, insurance, and merenntile charges, requires a greater capital than the .ante quantity of cowmen:en) time of peace.— These two circumstance' novo have had consider able influence, in the course of the hut three years, upon the circulating cash and paper of the king dom. especially when it is canatirleiel, that front causes already assigned, the circulation of paper was considerably dititioirhed; and Mr. Bosituquet. a Beak Director, in assigning the causes ortlie great pressure on the B an k , for want of cash, in the year 1783, is of opinion that the drain of cash at that time proceeded from the great extension of commerce which followed the Fiedler, ancl which occasioued so large an export of the commodities of this country, that the circulation woe hardly au f- Scion to support it. It appears, lastly. by the evidence of the Bank Directors, that in consequence of the long credit gives by our merchsinta, the payments fur Cite great qaintities of our manufactures, produe-, sad other merchandise exported, do not take place till a considerable tune utter their exportation. tho' a great additional capital has been previously em ployed is providing the article exported. The balance of payloads. which arises out of the ba lms** of trade, is necesurily posterior to it, and in countries like Great Britain. where long cred:t4 are given, it may not produce its full effect upon oar circulation for a considerable time. The result of all the various circumstances be fore stated, does not appear nn the whole to have produced any permanent disadvantageous effect on the cash of the Beek; till the mouth of September, 1795: the cash of the Busk had, indeed, been much lower thsu usual iii March and June, 1793 ; but it rose in the September of that year nearly to its usu sl average. From September, 1795, how ever. it continued progressively declining, so as to be, during the whole of the year 1796, consider ably less than in the eear 1795, but not lower at the end of 1796 than in the middle of that year ; and in the commencement of the present year, still less then in the year 1796 ; and in the week pre ceding the issuing of the Order of Council, it di minished rapidly ; it was not, however, even at that period, in any degree so low as in the year 1783, and luirtieularly iu the month of October of that year. The coaferenees between the Chancellor of the Exchequer, sod the Governor aril Deputy Go. moor of the Bank, on the apprehensions they en tertained of the diminution of their cash, and the representations made by them, from time to time, on the effect which foreign loans and remittances had ou the state of their cash, will appear by the evidence of the *said Governor and Deputy Go vernor, and other Direetors of the Bank, whim they attended the Consmitter, either as a deputaf , or in their individual eupacity, as well from the mi nutes of those conf fences, and the enpies of the re solutions delivered by them to the Chancellor of IM Exchequer. It will al,pe r also, from the evidence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and from the letters written by Ilion to the Governor of the Bank; all which are inserted iu this Report, and to whsels ti,. ComoEtter think it more proper to refer the !loose, than to glee a summary of them. The accounts before intwrted, and the evidence just rvferre I to, wi:i also show what was the stature of the advances made be the Bank to Government; --upon slim fun+. or credit they were val.( was Cicir suiouut at Jiffs rent periods ;—huw far the amount of those advances, duricg the pre sent war, have exceeded those usually made in time ' of peace ;—how far they have exceeded those made in the last war ;—and whether they were greater or less, immediately previous to the issuing the Order in Council of the '26th of February, Mien at any preceding period. The Committee were destroue of throwing fur ther light on this subject, by laying Before the Howe some accurate account of the excherceshe twee° Great Britamu and other countries; as these, when they can he correctly ascertained, afford a • good criterion of the balance of payments between Great Britain and other countries, and thereby 'thew, whether there is reason to conclude. that eny coin Or bullion has bees exported Of itillilened. At present, the only places with which there sub sists any • regular course of exchange with Great Britain, are Lisbon and Newburgh. At this last place, a great proportion of the at:runnel between Great Britain and the northern ports of Europe, re now settled and paid. The par of exchange teeth Lisbon can be accurately staled ; it is. 671. It has already bete shewn, front the evidence et Sir John Hort and Mr. Whitmore, how far the exchange between London and Lisbon has been of late to the disadvantage of this country ; and their account of it is fully confirmed by a statement of the courseof exchange, takes from Cestaiug's Papers, inserted in this Report. With respect to the exchange between Greet Britain and Hansburgli, the Committee have slot been able to decide, to their satisfaction, what is the actual par of exchange between London and Hatnburgh. The witnesses they have examined have widely differed with respect to the par of ex change between those pieces. TheCummitte st. how ever, have iiiserted in the minutes of the evidence, the answers of Mr. Boyd to two queetions put to him, and a paper presented to this Committee by one of the Ear miters of it, which throw coundtrable tight on this intricate subject, mod will account, its some degree, for the diffit sky the Committee had experienced in determining with *efficient accuracy the par of this exchaage. The mercantile accounts in Hateburgh and Lon don have a reference to different metals. Silver appears to be the common coin of Hamburgh. and gold is. in that plaice, rather to Ise considered as a commodity. Gold is the esercaistile cots of Great Britain, and silver has been for many years only a commodity, which has no fixed price, cud i• very. rarely earned to the mint to be coined, bat varies according to the demand for it at the market. The market price of these precious metals appears also to hare an influence on the beuco money of Ham burgh, in which the exchanges are reckoned. It is probable that to these circumstances is to be im puted the difficulty of determining the par of ex c range between London and Ilasuburgh. On the present subject, therefore, all that the Committee eau my with certainty in that according to the eels deuce of the Grwernor of the Bank of England, (which is confirmed by a paper aimexed) the ex change with Hallam_ p rsrh ceased to be unfavourable to this. country, its March 1796, Umtata more fa vourable iu the month of October last ; and that it continued favourable till the etith of February, when the Order of Cuenca was issued ; and that it comitieues so still. , The Cosi 0000 i o tee have hitherto stated the several pnints taring so the more remote causes, by which the tin 'statism of the kingdom, and the general state of the Batik, may have been affected. They proceed tow to those which immediately preceded the 16th of Februsery List, and more directly con tributed to the necessity of the Order of Council, which was issued on that day. • It appears from the ei Menet of Mr. Ellison, that • few weeks princess to the '26th of February. two great mercantile banks at Newcastle stopped pay ment its cash. oaring to the effect of a local alarm, similar, as stated by this gentleman, to that in 1793, which occasioned must of the country bankers to drum lore, sums of money f the enetropnlis, awl induced them to keep so score lamer spas tt t t tit s of specie shun before the your 1;93. sit order to mike their pi) meats, if such should be required of them. Mr. Thou mon confines, in general. this account given by Mr. Ellison. He agrees also with. Mr. with regert to the demand for cash made on the metropolis, by the country banker.. for time pureo.e of beings sent to different parts of the king dom; where it is portly kept by she country bauk ers.for the uses before mentioned, and partly drawn out of their hands by individuals to be hoarded. It appears by the esidence of Mr. Thornton. that there was at this time also a demand of cash to he sent from the metropolis to Scotland. But those demands for cash from the distant parts of the kingdom, were not the only rinses of the embarrassments of the Batik of England at this period. It is stated in an account di li vered by Mr. Puget, one of the Directors of the Bank of Englund, cod Agent for the Beek of Ire land, that in the commencement of the year 17'17 there was en unnsuil demand of cs:sh sLarle on the Batik of England, to be sent to Ireland ; and that there was ors expectation or a loan being intended to be raisin' its Great Unions fur the service of Ire land, which would !teens:airily have occasioned the exportation of a considerable quantity of cons Irvin the metropolis to the latter kingdom. It is proper to asld, that the kingdom of Ireland appear-, for some weeks previous to the Mining of the Order of Council, of the Atli of February, to have ex pr. viewed a great want of cash, similar to that which was experiemerl in Great Britain. There k a ciremnstanre that throws rinniarlerab r on one at least of the (11111r1 which produced thm great demand fur cash on the Bunk. It up roars by thew:coma of the stale of the cash at the Bank. at different periods, as laid before the e, the greatest drain of each which the Bank has experieni VII. subsequent to the year 171 4 3. W.'S in March and Jnue 1793, that is, a short time after the failtire of the country banks in that year; ■nth. in the einumencentent of the month of February of this year, that is, • short time after the Ness ea4b. batiks stopped payment in cash, and when the alarms before stated produced great demands for cash, from different parts of the country : so that, in both those ireritalo. the same cause appear► to have pra,laced as effect nearly .imilar ; that is, sery_lllllll6llSl drain of eash from the lank. thr iticre:sird drus.altl ':aitTit•h -- ;:;;T)edr a pro to the tleer.qt-e of ally other wilt of wool .- tiois tlut is u sulrioi•ote (of It. Tbs Coutuott,,. will presently sherr In .what der, , ree the sir „., of the notes of the Botik of Eu l_ud iota io . ; immeshately previ ous to the itt;-1, breary 64. With respect to the itesire.ese Isl . 1 lii„ ivy batik bills in eireulmion, alt . Th •risto.i, appear* to have collected his rot& lice tom s: seta' pal teof the kingdom, with vrit atvlsr o.y, a,,„ sired by the Committee to deliver the proportion in winch, recording to bas lion, country °batik lilt. cisculanot tin 0i1y.,,,„ ports of the kingdoirs, before the failures sii i 1794 ; at period subsequent to that year.; and it the vr,o3igi time. Tills account tuiy be seen at large p a 6, evidence ; but the result is, that, NI the .ps en , n time, the circulation of tin bills is in t „,„. 4) .,,,, at . the kingdom tiitt move than 111.141,; 4a another not more than half; and, in a tittriL, 'mit a sixth of what was iu circulation helms : the ‘, 01: 0 1693 ; and the Committee hive station m o t, „. soured to shear, in a former purt of thts,lllaa,elh to what degree the meas. Of coo.ifte. suit, 11l vow., quebee t-ereof, the regality supply ut pits e tn , (which smite could fill e l ) the veld tett pi^ this decrease of circulating paper) had thisiiiisle s of late years. Frusta the evidence of the Goveriurr at N .1. and from the Report of the • ••t Secret C 1111 6 ,11. • which his been laid brlu,a tins Cia.inoittort, 4 , 4 pears, that it was not singly the diminished vii.t .g their cable. which gave the ' , .esters .tic alarm ;—the tiover 111 l r and Bo a impute this alarm to the pr so-Sy-n.. 7 ••, t. demands for cash upon them, particolarly t o e week isreceding the With of Fehmarc, end to the reasons they had to uppreheud Nat tliese an d the consequent progressive reduction of cs•lt. would cos 1111 l ue. and even increase ; and airy ini, that this drain was in great part oising to denies& for cash from the country, such demamis times made noun the Bank indirectly frow the cottons. bet chi rill': from the lumbers of London, ohs ne m to supple the corrotrys The Directors of ti, z , Book, under tie impo st s - ma which thieve alarms and ecsbarrissumas loot sA slotted. appear to have judged ;i wash at to an at . Dish their notes in circulation. and tate ;su.,stspoost den/awls that might come 111:011 then*, so t 7; so , snake the demands more nearly correspouid side the state of their rash, It will be seen, in the sticonms presented to the Committee, of the amount of ilsok motes in circulation. at diderent periods , that th e average amount of these aides to simul a ti on , atr several yeses previous to the eud of the rear 1;:ti, may be •stated at between 10,400,0001 and 11.000,0001. hardly ever falling below 9,000,000. and not often exceeding, to way great mono.. 11.000,0001. It will a pp ear by one of th e a g ue ., mentioned at( annui, that in the Litter tad of 1796, and in the begin gof 1797, the amonat of the Batik notes in cies:Taxi:ow was teas than the average before stated ; and on the 25th of February last, it was reduced to 8,640.2501. It is true, that in in amount presented to the Committee. of the *monad of Bank notvs io cum:- lation in the years and 178-1, the quart lily was thew generally eves; less than the MHO lint mentioned ; but at that tune the foreign cornetts r of the kingdom was not even one-half of what it at present. as will be seen in the setoant of halm is and exports inserted is this Repot t. It is not probable that Our retiactitiii of INA notes to 3,640.2301. insiarshately pre,euus to the issuing the Order iu Council of the Fib u iming to any dintiontiou of the din ollini• t.r thrtu ; for at that tune the userrhuuts of Leuelsa *err ,illijett to difficulties, front not bvtug able ti get their bills discounted. The Directors of the Bank had, ern the :SW Dereinber 1795, come to a ressilution to their discounts; but, notwithstanding that . lion.they di e d not diminish thr amount of their .11.- counts in the course of the year 1796, competed with what they were in 171'5. but hail rathrr in cyce‘ed them. not howeier to such au c4teut as to make them correspond with the woods tit 1 :•. , rine m. mid world. A considerable degree of is ensued. which diintesi may also be ituputed to another causr, in evidence before the Committee. By law. no min is tut snore thus 51. per cent. interest for nsomy Irut or nth aimed by him; and this restriction i• understood m oppiy to hankers in the bii.iniess of discounting ; no that is titoc of war, when a much greater entete.t than Si. per cent. can he made of money, 111 , 00 Gime meat securities, die discounts iibich merchants obtain from bunkers and other indiiirlualr, are I:e -n-warily touch diminished, and they are fmc.d, us that account, to resort directly to the Mink. Some of the pe•solas wl.ont the CommPtee Ilia mined on this p tr. of the subject. hare spre-mel strong opinion of the ince.nreitience produr .411 die conduct of the Batik, in diminishing their no es to circulation, and in restricting their dist omits. One of these pr. sans is of . opittion, that no in creased quantity of bank notes. proportioned to tl increised oceasiou for them, mug t , iel to a demand £m guireus rein r 111411 to and that if the quantity of notes issued is vc.y c ,,i:- siderairly lest than the occasions of the int,. antoe world require, a ruts upon the Batik w.ll be the consequence. He is of opinion also, that the Di rectory of the Bank do not arm' mi•eres of t i e full extent cf their credit ; a.,J that I lie caa,,,,,e ilecensary to be ulna reed by itieit•e hankers ii, ointment of their bills, does :on u pwy t o the co-• the Bunk of England, for seveia, rentanis al t er e assigns. A great qu'etttity or bank ocotm, m 16' °Pillion. is alssolably necessary for the enculatms of the metropolis ; and tie, i n t'sis respect, it immaterial whether toese tunes are nsui-d for a,'- trances mode to Cm -eminent. or in &sermots to int.. tate persona. except that. in the last case. those whose hills ore discounted to n ;;renter ext•.,t, mar soppose that more relict is granted to them. lie alines, hoe, vet, th-it, as t h e Bankiliscouuts. t" .l. in tioor of war, at ::t. per scut. there mar I.c a ' :treater ~Minn to borrow of the Bank at 'r 1,10. 11 , 1111 it may be prudent sltva!ri fur the to unowly tti h. Another of thrs.? Gentlemen is of °pinto., 11 st the revolution or st,e ILOI to restrict the.r tru.eL :,• t• • eNtited on al ~tst awl distrust that led to an n.tre:or of the iir4l.l of o ,-ir rash ; th.t at ILA, nuottll,lo slam to the r.0.4::41 /Ale 1111113 ii-Truesalwil of aernteies, 4 , 1.1 tt ntber rilibirrpwittesit. r itv a,l ill.111 4 11.•1. lit -ti `IV 0 . 13144 k 1101V4 1111. 1 • •% t loth • isi.riy hos tut kept pave with thr 611 tttaud In• letapl , el rue-4 mint ..srcul.oon. 0.