The Sun. — London, England, 1819-02-03 00:00:00

PARLIA MENT. HOUSE OF LON DS, FEBRUARY 2. At four o'clock the House met, when six Peers 'took the usual oaths, and their Lordships adjourn led until five. A person from the Mint brought up various Papers relative to the coinage of half-crowns, shil ling'', and. sixpences, since. the 531 of Gen. 1111, their amount, and the expence incurred; as also n account of the amount of sovereigns and half sovereig6s issued since 1816, and the expence of coinage, • A person from the Bank br ought op sundry 'counts, which were laid upon tlie table.' TREATIES WITH FOREIGN POWERS. The. Earl of LIVERPOOL laid upon the table -copies of the Treaties entered into at Aix-ht- Chapelle with the different Powers of Europe. Lord HOLLAND said, lie riid not mean at .pre. sent to. enter into the. subject. It might, how:- ever, happen that those Treatiei would become the sobject of a future motion. He. wished, there fore, to be informed whether they conveyed all such iofot 'nation as was necessary to give a di4tinct view. of the ena,agements contracted by Great Britain riming the negociations which took place latfly The-Earl Of. LIVERPOOL said, the Treaties laid upon the.tahle were those entered into at Aix• la- Chapelle with the' different Powers assembled there. They would slick , the political relations in which this country was placed at present ‘vith recpect to these Powers, and the mutual obliga tions existing between them. BANK OF ENGLAND. The Eirl of Livstmpoot. rose to move for a Committee to inquire into the affairs of the Bank, trith respect to the Resumirion of Cash Pay ments at the time provided by law. Before mak ing this motion, he thought it right to have given pievi,,os notice of it, inasmuch as _it re hoed to a subject of great public importance.- Ile had no hesitation in saving, that it: was his must earnest desire that such an inquiry could have been rentlere4l unnecessary, by the resump. tin, of cash payments at the time prescribed-by Parliament. It was his .wish and expectation that circumstances would admit of so desirable an event. • But he never thought that, whenever it might he determined upon, the measure could be carried into effect without some inconvenience. Could the ancient policy of cash payments be re verted to, without the necessity of any such in (inky as that for which he meant to move, it wouhl. have been much better. • Early in the Ses sion he stated, that it would be necessary to pro pose a further combination of the restriction. A Committee:was not then immediately in his con remplation,lmt, now that it %VHS to .be appointed, be wished the investigation of the subject might be upon a large scale, and that the Committee might be left, 'in a great measure, to deal with the subject as they.pleased— This was not the groper ;him for entering into tire subject of the Bank Restriction. Whatever opinions the indi, 'lanais appointed to the Committee Might have formerly held upon it, they should go into tit, Committee uninfluenced by those opinions, and with a determination to investigate fairly and dis passionately a subject of so much importance.— , XVith tkis view, he should move, that a Commit tee of thirteen be appointed to inquire into time Sidle of . the Bank of England, with reference to the resumption of cash payments at the. period ap. pointed by law, and also into the matters con. fleeted therewith, and to report to time House such information as.they may have received, and which they may consider convenient to the public inte rest, with their observations thereupon. The Earl of LAUDERDALE thought the motion, as it was at present worded, scented to limit the observations of the Committee to the information actually laid before' them. It was 'desirable, for the purpose of obtaining all the krwwledge that could- be acquired upon the subject, that they should be at liberty to report their observation s fully and freely. He wished, therefore, that the word thereunto" should be left out. Tbe Eat{ of LIVERPooL did not tt•ish to limit the observiltions of the Con►tuittee in the way al hided to by tl►e Noble Earl. He had no objec tion to leave out any words in the motion that seemed to indicate such a limit:01011. The Marquis of LANiDOWNE wished to know whether the Committee was to be 9 secret one, and. beiug. answered in the afii:mative, he ex• pressed his apprehension, that the inquiry would not go far euoi.gli, according to the words of the motion. It should embrace not merely the cir cumstances of the Book with respect to the re sumption of Cash Payments, but other questions of considerable importance, such as the state of the Exchanges, and of the Currency of the Country. Ile never entertained any doubt that the Bank, upon inquiry, would be found fully able to meet all demands ui.on it, but this was not the only branch of the subject to be considered. lie hoped, at all events, that the investigation world be conducted in such a manner as to prove fully satisfactory to the public. The motion,..witi) the amendment suggested by the Earl of LAUDERDALE, was then agreed to, and Thursday kva4 appointed for choosing the Com mittee by ballot, nats3 amongst the rest, Lo CASTLESEAGII, WORCESTER, H. MANNERS, &C. Mr. I,YGON presented a Petition from Kidderminster, praying-for leave to bring in a Bill to facilitate the means of recovering Small Debts. --Referred to Aommittee. COAL TAX. Mr. CALVEIrr presented a Petition from St. Saviour's, against the oppressive duty , laid on Coals, being, for the sur rounding counties 9s. Iod. per chaldron, while other maritime counties had paid only about Cs. eld. per chaldron ; and it. 'prayed - the' Irdirs'EVlberetiEVed from such disproputtionate taxation. Sir R. WILSON supported the prayer of the l.etition,wbich very properly asked relief from heavy burdens, unequally imposed. Sir M.W.RIDLEY merely begged to guard himself against being misunderstood. The Northern counties would have no objection to the duties being taken off, but they would fairly object to their being taken off with, the view of being removed to other shoulders.—Laid upon the table. MR. HUNT. Mr. HARVEY presented a Petition from Henry Hunt, ob serving, that he forwarded it in the performance o f his duty as a Member, and begging- that he might not be therefore identified with the prihciples which Mr. Hunt was known to maintain. It prayed that the Westminster Hustings Bill might not pass into st law, &c. Mr. BENNET disclaimed what seemed to have been mis 'understeod by the petitiooer ; he had not charged Mr. flout with Iwirig the cause of the disgraceful riots before the Hust ings at the last election --Laid upon the table. The .Southwark Paving Bill was read a second time, and ordered to be committed. Mr. IV. SMITH presei.ted a Petition float the Norwich Grind Jury, praying that the House. would adirpt measures to promote a more speedy Bail Delivery ; ob se ri in,, that in one instance, a young Wall had heels imprisoned two ye,-,rs, and Wien acquitted as wholly innocent. This, uoder any cir -cumstances would be had, if not intolerable: hut it was the .more especially so in a country where the Constaution said there must be a speedy adthinistration of justice. Norwich was thus in the situation of -the •Northern Counties, cont. plairied ot by Mr. M. A. Taylor, and he hoped the propriety of alf-tditig a remedy would be seen. Petition read, and laid upon the table. Mr. S. wonsi.E . : presented a Petition front Halifax, praying that the Bank might not be called upon to resume cash payments.—(Hear !) Ordered to lie oti the table. Mr. CANNING presented a Petition, signed by about' 200 persons of Liverpool, which was not only similar to other pe titions on this subject, but also couched in similar language. (Hear !)—lt was against the resumption of cash payments.--. Otte petitioner, Mr. Ceopper, appended to. his !Mite this. qua lificat tlmt he wished the postponement of cash payments, and he did nut agree in the advaistage of their ever being re sumed !--(Hear, and a laugh.) , Mr. TIERNEY said this petitioner bad the 'merit of ho nestly speaking out his 'opinion : he wished others would follow the example. General GASCOIGNE wished to know when the new Bank Notes, upon an improved construction, would be ready to Supply the place if the forgeries ?—(A laugh.) The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he could not give any answer. Petition laid upon the table. Petitions were presented, complaining of undue Elections for the County and Town of Galway, Reading, Rochester, Bristol, Worcester, and Leitrim,which were severally ordered to he taken into consideration OD future days. ' Many Petitions for Private Bills, &c. were presented, acidsent to Committeas. • Mr. MANNING moved for an Account of the Half Yearly issues of Bank Notes since .1797.—Ordered. • TREATIES. Lord CASTLEREAGH presented Copies of the Treaties of Aix-la-Chapelle, for the evacuation of France, &C."; and his Lordship - added; that by had others to present, particularly some regarding the. Slave trade. There was also one regard— ing Privatt Claims on France. On this subject he should bring its-a Hill next week.—Ordered to he laid upon the table. Sir F. BURDETT presented a Petition from inhabitants of tVestminaer,, against the iVestminster Hustings Bill. The Hon. Baronet trusted that the Bill would be postponed. • • Mr. BENNET postponed the third reading,. if the Bill might he postponed till to-morrow.—Agreed to. Sir J. NEWPORT moved for Copies of Reports and Letters received by the GovertiMent of Ireland since March, 181 a, respecting the State of Disease in Ireland.—Ordered. BANK RESTRICTIONS. Mr. TIEftNRY ruse•to subMit a resolution to the House for the appointment of a Committee to in quire into the most important question which Could be made matter of debate—that of the Bank Rust rictions. The terms of his motion should be—That a Committee be 'appointed to inquire into_ the effects produced on the exchange between this and foreign countries, and on the circulating medium, by the restrictions on cash payments at the Bank ; and to report thereon, It was'now some time since a rnmour had been circulated, which had attracted his attention, that, contrary to all theik Parliamentary pledges, his Majesty's Ministers intended,to bring its a Bill to continue those Bank Restrictioos, which had now existed for a period of one-and-twenty years. 'the pre amble to the Act of the last year stated, that un foreseen circumstances bad prevented the resump tion of cash payments. Now, it turned out that more unforeseen circumstances had occurred dur ing the last twelve 'months. On the importance of the question he need not trouble the House. He had lately witnessed petitions which seemed to intimate that the question had assumed as mod) of a popular character as that of Annual Parlia ments and Universal Suffrage, and -be strongly suspected those petitions to have been attained its the same circular mode as those for Annual Par liaments. It was the general sense that an in quiry was necessary ; and it now remained to be shown why such an inquiry should not take place. Was it to be because he was the mover of it ; be was persuaded that no Gentleman could vote for the Chancellor of the Exchequer, unless it could be shown that his proposition went one step be yond, and embraced some point which his (Mr. Tierney's) did not reacts. For he could not believe that so independent a body as the House now enotained would range itself on either side without being guided by the merits of We ;notion. With respect to its first part, he did not think that any thing new could be produced. frankly avowed that the principle of the Bullion, Committee, as brought to a point with the able assistance of his lamented Friend, Mr. Horner, constituted his creed,—a creed which nothing that bad since occurred hail beetiable to shake. In conversing with many persons upon the subject, he bad had the satisfaction to find how rapid had been the progress ot truth front day to day. For all professed that the principle was right, though some maintained that the resumption of cash pay ments might still be injudicious. The question was now very different, from what it once had been. The danger to the Bank, the difficulties created by the price of gold, all thos;or-Tsidera lions were now set aside. The true .lion was whether the circulation of the eoudiryl should be restored, and kept within the bounds, of its na tural state. This was therefore no more an ah sit act question. And yet it was on this that an . alarm had been spread throughout the country and its commercial departments. Gentlemen had been taught to believe that the safety of the Em pire depended on no diminution of the circulat ing medium 'taking place. This was a doctrine which he heard without surprise. It was what Ise had predicted. The habits, of the patient had . grown so vitiated by a lung curse ul indulgence, tliet he could not bear to return too wholesome regimen. But the alarm to which he had alluded could not have been supported for a moment un less it had derived some sanction from the autho ity of persons high in the estimation of•thectitt'o try. He should act wrong by the House and the Nation if he did not call thiegs ,by their tight names. There wars a strong money. party in the country, whose object Was toepoison the public mind on this subject, and to controuf the House and the Bank itself. This party was composed of different descriptions of persons. It contained men Of the highest integrity and effluence, whose name would pass current from one end of the earth 'to the other, and who lent themselves to the object most conscientiously thinking that they did right. But the•lest were of a different cha racter. In fact he considered himself this night • at tear with all the gamblers anti speculatots in the stocks. Every word lie uttered was worm wood to them.. They would naturally misrepre sent his intentions anti attempt to throw discredit on all he did, But if his living was no offence, he was etinscious of committing no other.— He was discharging his duty to his coentry.— Those men were persons teho bad overt railed ; who, Without capital, had embatked it) extensive speculations ; they were mere gamblers ; anti be asked the i - loose whether it %vas astonishing that they should oppose with all their might the re storation of cash payments ?—They knew. that the hour of their extinction was come, the moment the tight curt eney of the land Was re stored.. Bet unfortunately that hour had beet; so long postponed that they had prevailed on the respectable individuals. whom - he had first men tioned, to put their mimes to petitions, aod to to the House, as •an Englishinael he was ashamed to speak it, t o request t h at E ng l and should not, have the same circulation as other countries. "1 he of the Bxchequer, to whom lie meant no incivirty in what he was about to state, had, by tile course which he had pursoed, it not Made.himself an Iri,truwent in their heeds, at least suffered himself to he cowed 'by their threats and machinations, He and his Noble Colleague, Lord Liverpool, had held conferences with, those ,persons. lie hail made his whole sy s t em -to rest on paper. What could the House think Of A Finance Minister, who, from year to year, and from one : Session to another, woUld on without trying to emancipate the country nom its difficulties, nay, without manfully look ing, or allowing the House to look them in the face ? His system' consisted -in holding out hope' that thing" might mettd! That he might join the ends of the year by an , improvement in the Revenue and the issue of Exchequer hills- His object • tii rinse the Revenue was a eery laudable' one. , But how did he attempt, o effect it ? Not by laving new duties or other sources, but only by at, emission of paper:, In 1816, when we were just beginning to escape from one difficulties, the amount of paper was very low indeed. Al the beeinning of 1817 the Right Hon. Genii( man bad come-with an air of triumph, Which he should not easily forget, and had told the House thet trii was restored, that the Stocks were going to. rise, and that in a - short time he should be able to re duce the interest. of money sell off the five per cents. in three mowth)i the w h o l e see t e r eJu ie out. The Bink and the Cou n try Bankers iticreas ed their paper issues from day to day,and that was the national prospetit'y so much ;toasted of by the Right ilen•' Geistlemau. Bet he (tl , e Chancel lor of the Exchequer) was jut etested in it. 'I he Exchequer Bills were issued, on which the pressure Of difficulties rase him consolat i on i,aftoikr of its circulation.—.- by the momentary increase felt relieved emitted fresh notes, and the col: wr y B ut t hi s relief would eltimately prove , fatal, ce iu tints of peace, in the I look ot: a r m d e i ffi i c ,i ni ( t 3 i ( e ) s d ft when s. hould eve e w v e er di -t it was not effected ( 1 1 ,e no: bie peace, let evety Gentleman _a la l y ter h fi is ve heart, and say what to do ? would 'be - the situation of the country %WI - Ca war hand on of his of an armament to intervene, and tied es with n 4).. but paper resting on paper. But the Right Edon. Gentleman might say, do you regret . -that I should raise the public revenue ?"- Certainly not, if that rise proceeded from sound grilses.-- But he regretted it because it had no solid foun estiOns, and held out hopes which' wonlii never he realized. All knew that great fluctuations in the funds mtise prove injurious to the. country. Butt there weremeu who desired such fluctuations. le 1817, the Three per Cents were 'about 63 or 64, but by the mere operation of paper they had been raised to 84 ioabout nine months. • This extrava gant rise could not be attributed to 'any thing else titan the issue-of paper. The'• Right Hon. Gen tleman had come inflamed with ,the idea of paying off the Five per Cents., but it was bottomed on paper, and he knew he mild not pay. He would perhaps ask whether he (Mr. I'.) would he sorry that the Five per Cents. should be paid off? doubtedly if thkit payment were produced by an increased and forced circulation. He called it a forced circulation, because the public bad no choice left whether to take or to refuse paper.— Thus ti.) raise the price of the Funds, and to re duce the interest, was,—what he could not iex press n other words, for they would not impart his :nearing,—what constituted a fraud. Imhsi duals had 'placed their money in the Feeds, on the faith of Government, that the Restrictions on Cash Paytneuis would cease six months atter the return of peace. - But would they have done so if , they had dreamt that those Restrictions would be continued years after peace, for no other purpose than to come at their interest ? First, the price of all the necessaries of life were raised for them by the system adopted, anti next their interest was to be reduced I Then they were to he Enid, that no wrong had been done them, but that they sufe feral front causes .which increased the prosperity of the country. The Right Hon. Gentlemen would he glad, he trus'cd, on reflection, to find thatbe had not beets ehle to consummate such an object. All these points demanded the most se !ivies consideration, and the time was come when the House should interpose on the subject. For though only one fair and hcnest man had been found to come forward and to declare that he wiehed the Bank Restrictions should continue for ever, he feared that many interested persons were of the same opinion. Sll6l was the trighttid state in which we stood. He would not go into any il't N~~l~ hint: aoct i :ocs ; p ast ! iccal:s ,, i l; L t 11 ' elf competent ; seco l ty4 " cA' e would be taken op by ' alder .hands ; IstlY , because the nattne itself of t he () bet lion Wits altered. He effit 6ide " 9l the' °f mode .. of in qu i ry to b e t h e appointment 'iloc c Cft "WVttee. as it was most t° P 1-` r( e stg' disttnete answers o u • the subje.e...tS ititip 17' die to inquire 4.t7iPot iperulY state of th e Bank, but into ' t he e if e et of !h e (It s wit:non dining the last 21 years. lie " . ' sl ; e o ,lil ascertaits why the property of Enolishnicti °ire not be submitted to the same tes'; and oleo tueni of all o her COnninies Lie did not P le l t iji to give ant' °Pinion as to the *exact period all li d cash payineurs should be resumed. He (tn(11( that shtiblitk.cittitffit'renitf wise f i) o () a C de c ide ( , "' s l n suns. U o lor eseen circumstances,e'the would afford th e nitfinS of cumin , ' to a v" se :pti been told, h a d hitherto rendered the. contit.troot of the restrictions necessary • but he d'',,„bt know Of one reason why those 'rest rift ion s not cease. He therefore tvished to a scert' n '' i i s lf Ilose reasons were Debate wo;sid not ' a , of cour.e-oj him. Gentlemen erew 'heated in the debate, 01)41 'said m " any th ' ings dui a ';,ol, e ountr , of ltys tate before ( c " o 'c ul i :l C k they t r ‘ e .°, ; llll ; l Iti')et”tit ; ', l 4ll‘ re3pecting the vast - danger of resuming c° . ‘ P ii'l "'cuts% theSr conceived such clang° . t() . c , so. he wished to'Coow their rea sons for thinb"- ,11,1 None had been given save t elig"te' le 7 state of los eign loans. Now what was that 51 -19 . They had been* said • last year to amoun t the millions sterling, t o h e p a id by ins Anent, 1 h;,of course Of nine months . B„, by !be eXe r"° has 'Ministers the mode of naYal e , l) ! been since altered, and France bad d ) , " millions, and the time for thy.i!. amount. They had been r educe d ,• o _. 13' months, if not 27. Weir (huge the circumstances which could prevent a r eturn i do l payments ? Was not thedan , er to be 4 PP, rbt' from, those loans ssi diminished as scat eed ° er ica, tam any existence ? It could not be enote'l, that the 12 millions were to come !entirJF, ( : ( rico•• this country. Not more - sl im , one h a lf %vow(' ce, billy be paid by Englishmen and c olds) it. b ( t )iol. tended that the enormous remit ranee of 33( ; t leti payment extende.toeo per month by private individuals for 1 3 r frr . l eir' was a . suliirient cause for stopping the reg"''', ‘ l f joi , culation .of the country ? Did his illerjes t Y '4 i)C l ' sters think that that would he tile -sessile 'coo atlireayngatelivuiseenrtlst?ho.sreheilvnitiitni(dltalblstettdslyel:itit:tr not it the moment the wo .. rd loan wirets tveneint'citi: ttE suited their pnrpose to cophect it with the 0 11 , e r the country, unless cash , payments' We" ft :Pro t suspended. T b ere was ansohgsr t i, ei n 11 01, ' ie r the precious metals, and ars adstdration of r e for which no reasoning could accooot• view to enable the Bank to snake gout( its cwe ,r _ e tl ruents, the Right* Hon. Gentleman tad I n l i jos• to p.sy off a certain quantity of Exchequ er B u t tise spoment it . w.ss sects Lord Livell wl prated in earnest, and acted as if he was 1.1, ' ,y•• derei•milled that the Bank should resu me Cos h ', 73 f menus. what AePowed ? Why, ii clt )usatit'u ,A sew trom the City to Lord Liver an,, t" ther to the Co;-mcdior of the Exeh l e. :• "°'":i•C l u g again t the measure, and deel,r!:: ;4 l , - '4'u.d.. - were ca rried into cifect, the greatest possible 1 , 11 coin , Int:nee would fall on the Commerce of "' L e t cusw . tr . y, and the city would absolutely b e st arv' t for !,:ant . ot . a circulating medium. Tisis was k e ,' )- up tid w , ithih a few days of the meeting'. "f l l preent I aeltalPest, when a promise kVetS t. 1 . 11:4t the Bat.k Re str i ct i on A ct / b oo b! be contione foranuther year. In consequence o f the al' r° which kid pievailed, S oe k, ba d f a lle n ( 0 4, 4 . dcd:ne of about ten per c e nt. Thea, - oo tl ic prehensions of those connected: with ,Ise n "', inatk:t being set at re s t, t h ere wa s a rise 6or per ' ' cent. Nt "ow, who, be would ask, w ere t i gainers by th ese fluctuations in the price of Sw el** ) ; Designing men, wh os e scbemes e n ot tu rttr encouraged. Who were t h e l osers ?ll on est who, !ought no Unfair a d van ~ tae, an d w 11° . 3 j 1 ./ ' ,l the simplicity t o pl ace suc h confidence in tens ‘ as to beh e v e th at t h ee meant w hat I heY tti 5 1.1 1.1 , hpe persons were frightened by o!lie s ' s c• • better understood the maitue4svres ot 'G o vesli tne i ' t When Stocks had f a ll e n, ;hey Were t °l ' l '„ “ i ) t : you had bitter sell out, for you may tleP ei- . on it there will soon he a terrible steads stocks." These sold out, the others ,s and then the Chancellor of the ExclAA,ter p . revailed spots to promise that the Bank R estr . l lo .. non Act should be con bused, and the stoc k ' l ei sP' mediately got ur again. Such was the sYsi-ecs acted upon in the money mar ket, a nd hY to means nothing like public credit had been l tls this devoted country. Here in ostr public f"nt„, she wary could always take advantage of wary. The man who was aware of the de sl , - ,• ii i of Government could gain at the exurnse of e A who knew no!biug of them • and it l e Wh° what the Legislature would over hint who had no idea what were the q u i e es lions about to he brought under the considerarila of Parlia went • Was it then too lunch 11 ° 1 o f called on the House to put an cud to this sta te , e . things—that he called upon sisens to decide ec,t t o tiler one set of men s hould thus he _permi tted to prey ; upon no titer, and doing this to ?tie of the most important decisions t hat Clouse had ever come to since the R e voluti on ' But why was hue troubling the House " lit° a • 4 s p eech and debate on a nropw:ition which Qq not disputed, for a ll adm:t'ted that an inqu ir Yl s ii t i necessary, and this was what he wanted ? answer was, he did so n , becase the CO n , ti •. if . the Exchequer objected to his mode Of i l t l mg the Committee by which the i oqn y be conducted. The Right iionnorrible Gc", - b e rani Man opposite had ano th e r to pr , po i,e, onl,l ther e for e con t en d t h a t his (Nlr. T s i e rneYe,, Platt ought Wit to be received. On the üb . / V I C now, under discussion, he understood thac the Would presently make a very strong appe al House—an-appeal, Which Mr. Pitt, in the Pl en t „ hide o 1 his power, would not have ventored,o,„ rn i ake. For thi s ther e was no occasion. I t i n )e, su c i a n t i ls te e d r t r l o ss p it on i e n ( q i u b i y ry was necessary, au' l he . ow he, Ili proposed one that would answer every iturP" sc. Atlgt“ Han. Gentleman. the triumph nu h - the firsit'itinnsittawnaces,"ii;de rocti.i,srtee:ll:l„l.:i INSOLVENT DEBTORS. The Earl of SHAFTESBURY presented a Petition fron► the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council of the City of London, in Common Council assembled, praying that the present Act for the relief of Insolvent Debtors be repealed, or not revived .►nd continued. • The 1.401 W CHANCELLOR said, that the petition referred to a subject of the' highest importance, and well deserving of their Lordships' most se rious attention. For the purpose of bringing it under the conbideration of the House, he would now give notice, that it was his intention, at an early day, to move fora return of the number and names of all persons discharged u n der the In solvent Act, the amount of their debts, the time of their discharge, and the dividends received by crcditurs.—Adjourned until to-morrow. HOUSE OF COMMONS. A ;teat mdny Members took the oaths and their I