The Sun. — London, England, 1827-06-15 00:00:00

mut ; ana I can also assure him moat sincerely that in my j u d gme nt, and in the judgment of my colleagues, any infor inatimathat we could now afford would do any thing but con tribute to promote the object of the Noble Lord. On that ground, therefore, I must refuse to give any specific answer. Lord TEYNHAM--There can be no doubt that the occupation of Cadiz and the other Spanish ports by France, is an indication of a hostile feeling, if not of an Act of hostility, on the part of that country towards England, and I am sure that the House will a g r ee with me in thinking that the deepest responsibility rests with the Noble Viscount and all his Majesty's Go- vernment.—(Hear, hear.) Lord DUDLEY—When the day of explanation comes, I have no doubt that it will appear that his Majesty's Go vernment have not been unmindful of their duty.—(Hear.) BILL FOR REGULATING THE OFFICE OF LORD HIGH ADMIRAL. Lord GODERICH moved the Second Reading of the Bill for transferring the powers of the Admiralty to the Lord High Admiral, and for enabling his Council to act in some instances for him. _ Lord MELVILLE supported the Bill. Lord ELLENBOROUGH inquired whether any thing Lad been done respecting the Droits of the Admiralty. The LORD CHANCELLOR said that in the Com mission of the Lord High Admiral, the Droits of the Admi ralty were excepted in the same manner as had been done in the case of Prince George of Denmark. The only difference was, that in the present instance it was declared in the body of the Commission itself that the Lord High Admiral would not have the droits, whilst the same thing was effected in the case of Prince George of Denmark by a separate instrument. Lord ELLENBOROUGH expressed his intention of proposing a clause, making it necessary to have every ap pointment signed by the Lord High Admiral, counter signed by one of the Council. The LORD CHANCELLOR would oppose any such clause, because it would have the effect of altering the con stitution of the office. It should be remembered that the Lord High Admiral was, although so nearly allied to his Majesty, merely a subject, and, as such, responsible for any act which he did in the execution of his office. The same situation had been held by James the Second.— The late much-lamented Duke of York, who was the heir apparent, did various seta for which he alone was re sponsible. Lord ELLENBOROUGH was not at all disposed to go back to the time of James the Second for any precedent whatsoever. There was, however, a very material distinc tion between the situation of the Duke of York at that period and the present Lord High Admiral. That Duke of York, at the time he was appointed to the situation, was not Heir Presumptive to the Throne. It was true he afterwards became so ; but there Wag a very great differ ence, lie was prepared to contend, between continuing a person in a situation where he had behaved well, and ap pointing that person at first to the situation. If he, how ever, required any reason beyond another for proposing the clause to which he alluded, it would be found in what fell from the Noble Viscount (Lord Melville) upon the sub er.t of the unlimited power reposed in the Lord High Ad ru3ral upon all subjects connected with the administration of the , Affairs of the navy. It ought to be remembered that there was no way in which the Heir Presumptive to the Throne could be checked in any abuse of his power, unless thrd:uzh a Bill of Exclusion ; and he always considered that in such cues prevention was better than punishment. He did not mean to impugn the appoint ment of a Lord High Admiral. He knew it Vas a very popular appointment, and he was convinced the Royal Duke would receive the highest satisfaction is contributing utmost support to the good of the public service. When the Ministers thought it right to recommend his Majesty to- make the appointment, it was the part of the Noble Duke to accept it under the influence ; but he still thought the responsibility ought to be reposed in more than one person ; and under that impression, he would consider the propriety of recommending some such clause as he had mentioned when the Bill went into a Committee. The Bill was then read a second time, and ordered to be _ committed on Monday next. MISREPRESENTATION, DELAMERE was anxious to correct a mistake which bail gone abroad respecting his vote en the Corn Eill. He did not, as had been stated, vote for the amend ment of the Noble Duke, but, on the contrary, was an anxious supporter of the Corn Bill. AMENDMENT OF THE CRIMINAL LAWS. TENTERDEN moved that the House should re solve into a Committee on the Criminal Law Amendment Bill. After a few wards from Lord ELLENBOROUGH, the Bills went through a Committee. Their Lordships then adjourned at Half-prat Sit o'Clock. ROUSE OF COMMONS, THURSDAY, JUNg l 4 Shortly after the Speaker had taken the Chair, th!a Usher of the Black Rod appeared at the bar, and required ;he attendance of the Commons in the House of Lords. The Speaker and several of the Members then withdrew and IN-ere absent for several minutes. Upon their return, the Spe&ker announced that his Majesty's Assent had been given to th,-. Turnpike Act, and to several Private Bills. COR,'ORATION AND TEST ACTS. Mr. H . G . sm" . ITH presented a petition from Colchester, for the Repeal of the above Acts. Similar petitions were presented from four plan's in Cornwall by Mr. Pendarves ; from a place in Suffolk, ;4 , Sir W. Rowley ; from a Congregation assembled in Devoohire.square, London, by Ald er man Wood ; from Congregations in Wild-street, Lincoln's-inn ; Somers Town ; Blantiford-street, Man chester.square, and different other places in the Metropolis. Mr. BROWNLOW p resented a petition from the Weavers of Lisburn, praying for relief. Mr. LYTTLETON moved for returns of the quantity of malt used by brewers within the lest sews years, spe- tifying the quantity in each year. Mr. CHAPLIN presented a petition from Lincoln prayit7, for a duty on foreign wool. Sir JOSEPH YORKE presented a petition from a me dical g „ t i e oan named Hargrave, praying that a part of the Regent's Nlrk might be turned into a botanical gar den, to be called 1-I.lradisus Anglicanus, and that the pe titioner should be api;...ointed to superintend the garden, with a salary of 5001. a yeaa:•—(Laughter.) The SPEAKER suggested {Lit, as the prayer of the petition contained a demand for eats,')', the petition must be considered irregular: it WAS therefore withdrawn.. Mr. W. SMITH presented a petition from ‘'.l individual Awed William Parker, complaining of : the conduct of his Majesty's servants at the Cape of Good Hope, and request ing to Si? allowed to prove his charges at the bar. Mr. DAVENPORT presented a petition from Bethnal green, complaining of the low state of wages. Mr. VESEY FlTZGERA,LDpreeented a petition from the county of Clare, against the Salmon Fishery Bill. ELECTION PETITIONS. Mr. M. A. TAYLOR rose tc, icing forward his motion oi l the subject of the mode of balloting for Election Peti tions. He assured the House, that in laringLng forward the subject he was not influesced by any desire to em barrass the Government, but in order that Hon. Gentle men might turn their attention to the at4ect during the recess. He thought the number of Members named on Election Committees too large. He was one of these who believed that the douse of Comrnons dill pot rePent the people; but it must be admitted tLat !here were many Gentlemen of high honour and unimpcached integrity in that House, ata it was a great - degrada tion to those Gentlemen to say thet it was necessary to appoint forty-nine from amongst *Pi to insure impartiality on an election petition, where every Member was sworn. In the next Session of Par liabsent, therefore, ha should move that the number of' Members appointed to Committees on Election Petitions should be reduced.— ( Hear, hear, hear.), --He also objected to the system of appointing nominees, for a nominee stood in a most unpleasant situation, being at once an assistant to one of the parties and a judge in the cause. He would bring the subject before the House next Session. Mr. WYNN, after making some observations on the subject, expressed a hope that the non. Member would delay pressiog his motion till the next Session of Par liament. ^ M Mr. M. A. TAYLOR readily acquiesced in the Right Honourable Gentleman's request, and accordingly withdrew is motion. CORN BILL OF 1522. Mr. WESTERN rose for the purpose of giving a notice, or rather of completing a notice he had given on a former evening. After the disposal of a Bill which had passed that I-louse, but which was arrested in its progress in another place,- Mr. BARING here rcsa to order, and observed, that as the House could know nothing of what was done with the Bill in another place until it was officially communicated, it was not regular to advert to it, much less to make it the subject of a notice here. It would he time enough to take further steps when the House were informed of the fate of the Bill in the other House. • The SPEAKER said, he understood the Hon. Member was about to give a notice not contingent upon any thing which was done elsewhere. Mr. fIUSKISSON said, if it were contingent it would he irregular, until they knew of the contingency. He had understood from general rumour, that the Hon. Gen tleman did intend to bring forward a motion, and he hoped he would give notice of the day. Mr. WESTERN said, then, without waiting for any contingency, he gave notice, that on Monday next he would move for leave to bring in a Bill to repeal so much of the Corn Bill passed in 1822 as prevented its coming into operation until the price of wheat reached 80 s ..—that was, simply, to allow that Act to come into immediate operation. DISTRESS OF THE COUNTRY. Mr. EDWARD DAVENPORT said, that in rising to move for the appointment of a Select Committee, to inquire into the calms of the severe distress which had afflicted the commercial and industrious classes of the community during the last and present years, he felt his inability to do justice to the subject. Besides the external difficulties which he had to encounter in bringing forward his motion, there were others of an intrinsic character, which he had not contemplated. There appeared to be a disposition in some individuals to oppose any proposition, which appeared to be prima facie for the benefit of the cause of justice and huManity. There were others who thought the motion ought not to be brought forward, because, wishing to sup port the existing Administration, they therefore considered it improper to scrutinise the public mischiefs which had occurred under the preceding Administration. This ap peared to him to be an act of unusual respect for a defeated enemy ; a respect, indeed, which the Members of the late Cabinet did not seem disposed to pay to their own charac ter ; for they bad used their utmost endeavours to defeat a Bill which, not long since, had been concocted by them selves. But whatever other encouragement might be withheld from him, he had at least one support—that para mount sense of duty which had always been, and lie trusted always would be, the whole rule and guide of his public conduct. He trusted that, in consideration of the various obstacles to which he had alluded, the House would indulge him with a patient hearing while he endeavoured to explain, as well as he could, the evils of that system to which cer tain Members of the Cabinet appeared determined perti naciously to adhere. That system had already hurled thousands of industrious tradesmen from a state of comfort and respectability to one of embarrassment and necessity; it had hurled tens of thousands of the classes immediately below them into a state of destitution and want. He would show the inconsistency of the persons under whose auspices the country had been reduced to this deplorable condition. He would shew that that condition would become worse or better, according to the measures which Government might think proper to adopt ; and that it could be rendered better only by means calculated to bring on a crisis of greater or less intensity ; for if the circulation of Bank of England Paper were increased, we should immediately see a rise in prices in the Stocks, and in all the concomitants and prog nostics of national prosperity. The supporters of the policy which he condemned flattered themselves that they were maintaining the national faith. What was meant by the national faith ? Did it not mean to pre serve the spirit of mutual contracts; the just and natural relations of debtor and creditor ? The measures that had been adopted, however, had ruined numerous debtors; who were called upon to pay their creditors infinitely more than they had received from them. Another alarming cir cumstance was the defalcation iu the revenue; amounting in one year to four millions. How could public affairs go on in a right course under such circumstances? 'Of all the causes of the existing distress among the people, one which most puzzled him was the facility with which persons of the highest talent and of the most 'Constitutional principles lent their assistance to measures which surreptitiously raised the taxes one-third above the amount which it was intended they should be when they were laid on. Unless something were speedily done, it was impossible to say what mischiefs might not ensue. Very strong symptoms of something like anarchy were already showing them selves, in the wish to have a Minimum of wages, a maxi mum of labour, &e. The fact was, that a large portion of the people were in a state of suffering which they felt to be almost intolerable. He thought every Member in the House must feel convinced that something must be done for the working . classes. This was as obvious to rea son, as it was impressive upon humanity. The poor could not any longer support themselves by their in dustry. To the eternal disgrace of the country, and to the no great honour or glory of those who presided over its destinies, the labourer was not worthy of his hire. If the House would grant him the Committee he required, lie would pledge himself to prove the following facts : That the fluctuating systems pursued by Government, were of ,7reat evil to the country ; that every tax was a grievance to sae country at large, and a benefit only to those who received it ; that free trade, the existing standard, and existing taxation, could not simultaneously be maintained ; that the intercourse between the Govern ment and the Bank of England wag detrimental, inasmuch as it was dangerous to the stability of that establishment. He would explain the difficulties arising from the silver standard being withdrass - n from use. Lastly, be would pledge himself that the present system had been, and con tinued, a fertile source of the increase of distress and crime; and as this last subject might possibly be a little interest ing, and coins home to the feelings of Hon. Members, he would expatiate more upon it. The Honourable Member then went into a statement to prove that crime was con sequent upon distress. He maintained that neither the Game Laws nor high prices of corn had created the crimes w hi c h h a d Lew; so greatly increased of late throughout the country. He denied that the prices of corn had been high, for they had been Iowa: last winter than for the last thirty years. It was, in point of fact, not high but low prices that had been the cause of the distresses of the country ; and uo laws could deter persons finm com mitting crimes when they had no alternative but starving or committing them. lie held in his hand a synopsis, which would show that within the last forty years, there had been not less than thirteen different financial periods, and all characterised by precisely the same features. The Govermnent, therefore, was in no want of experience, and had erred in spite of the light thrown upon their situation by preceding events. Ad verting to the lights by which the House was governed in the year 1919, he read to the House, in the first instance, a passage from Mr. Peel's speech on bringing forward his Bill in May of that year, in which that Right Hon. Gen tleman reprobated the amount of paper circulation. The Hon. Member (Mr. E. Davenport) was surprised that the Right Hon. Gentleman, when last year Minister for the Home Department, ieee,. not made the same complaint. That" moot honest Bill, whicS t a went emphatically by the name of the Right Hon. Gentlernar3, passed amid loud cheer; and in t his case, as in some etliers, the. record of that applause was the erly existing proof of the excetlence of the measure. The Hon. Gentleman then read a quota tion of Mr. Rieardo's opinion on the increase of the circu lating medium, and subsequently a passage froia a petition from Liverpool, presented in the session of 1821, on ilia resumption of cash payments, and asserting, that it had been determined by Parliament to seteen to a gold circula tion, rather with a view to the convenience sad interest of the Bank of England, than the general welfare of the com. nu,nity. Every subsequent attempt to trace the difficul ties of,the co - ;ntry to the change in the currency was in variably repressed Houses ; and in order to esta blish this point, the 1:1On. Alemb?e referred briefly to the proceedings and speeches in Pailianienr. In the year fol lowing (1822) another Committee was appointed, under the manctic; of the Noble Marquis then at the head of public affairs ; and, in conaeouenCe of its Report, and the state of the Nation, no less than sevea or eight schemes were pro posed to increase the currency, and thereby to relieve the pubhc distress: money was to be lent by the Baal: of Eng land upon marti s zge ; and next it was to be advanced upon stock ; and all the Yariaps expedients had for object the in crease of the circulation. At this period were sown the see& of that commercial and mercantile revulsion which had been by many dieengenuonsly attributed to the transition from war to peace, and to the boundless spirit of speculation encouraged by provincial ank It was, in fact, to be justly traced fo r the meas b ures s. of Government, and the Bank of England forcing the circulation. The Honourable Member, after noticing the state of the Exchanges, which, in 1822, began to wear an adverse appearance, called upon the other side of the House to state, whether any and what steps had been taken to compel the Bank of England to restrict its paper issues. So far from any attempt of the kind having been made, the House would bear with sur prise that there had been an absolute increase of that pa per circulation which had been already proved to be exces sive. By a Return upon the Table, it was shewn that, in July, 1825, the paper currency of the Bank of England was not less than 21,763,0001., which rendered the gene ral currency of the Kingdom nearly ten millions more than it had been in the two years immediately preceding. Yet this increase had been effected without the slightest warn ing to the nation ; and the King's Speech by Com mis sion , in February, 1825, declared that there never had been a period when all the great interests of the Empire were in a more flourishing condition. On the conclusion of the Session, in July of the same year, these congratulations were reiterated by the Advisers of the Crown. Yet, at that moment, they must have had, in their pockets, the returns from the Custom-house of about eight millions of bullion which had recently been sent out of the country. In about three months afterwards the shock took place; into the details of which he would not enter, but state that the aggregate of bankrupts and insolvents amounted to no fewer than 11,400. The lion. Gentleman particularly referred to the calamitous state of the wool districts; an d after reading some quotations on the subject, spoke generally of the distress and difficulty under which the whole coun try laboured. If any private individual had received a cor responding account of the ruinous condition of his affairs, would he not have called his steward to a strict ac count, and have taken instant steps to inquire, and to remedy ? Speculation might have aided, but it had unquestionably not occasioned the evil. On this poi n t, the Honourable Member adverted to the Correspondence between Government and the Bank regarding the p an i c , in the Money Market, which strongly condemned the spirit of speculation which it was asserted had been " fostered and encouraged by the country banks." He denied this position, and contended that the coun try banks were guiltless of all contribution to the public calamities. He supported himself in his opi nion by several speeches in Parliament, in which it was urged that speculation had been carried on principally in London and Liverpool, where no country notes circulated, and in Glasgow, where the Scotch banking system ex isted in its perfection. He also read au extract to the same point from a letter from Mr. Thos. Attwood to Mr. Glad: stanes. His object was to obtain an inquiry, which he thought absolutely necessary for the welfare of the country. He would not pretend to dictate what was the course that should be pursued, but something was required ; and the first step towards the object was inquiry, for which he should certainly press. He thought that something should be done with regard to the currency, which ought no longer to be subjected to the fluctuations which it had recently suffered. While on that subject he must say that some fresh regulation of payments to public officers ought to take place; and unless some Member better qualified than him self would undertake the task, it was his intention to call the attention of the House to the subject of the salaries of public officers. When the currency was depreciated, those gentlemen took care of themselves, by increasing the amount of their salaries ; and now that the old currency was re stored, he thought they should be reduced to their former standard. As part of the country was in this way put upon short allowance, be thought that the salaries of public officers should be reduced in the same manner, that all might share alike, and that there might be no Benjamin's mess at the public feast. The Hon. Member concluded by moving that a Select Committee should be appointed, for the purpose of inquiring into the causes of the distress _ of the commercial and industrious classes, during the last and the present year. Mr. LEYCESTER seconded the motion, as he thought some inquiry was absolutely necessary. He thought so, be cause there weve so many different opinions both with re gard to the causes of the distress and the remedies that ought to be proposed to meet it. For himself, he believed that the distress of the manufacturing part of the commu nity was occasioned first by the faultiness of the law, with respect to the money system of this country, and next by the mismanagement of the power that had been trusted to the Bank of England ; the Directors of which, by their impru dent issues of money, when money was already too plentiful in the. market, and by their discounting bills at a small rate at the same time, gave such au encouragement to mad-brained speculation, that there was no scheme, how ever wild and extravagant, that was not sure to be encou raged and supported. The third great cause of the evil was, the existence of the Sinking Fund. To remedy the distress which these three causes had produced, it was his opinion that they should first correct the law regarding the Cur rency ; next, that they should regulate the power of the Bank of England in such a manner as to prevent a repeti tion of those evils which their mismanagement had pro duced ; and, lastly—that they should give the Sinking Fund its coup de grace. They had got it down, and he thought they should keep it down. On the grounds which he had thus noticed, he should support the motion. Mr. R. KING also supported the motion, and trusted that some measures would be adopted for the amelioration of Ireland ; one of the evils of which arose from the want of Poor Laws. Ireland had long been the object of mis rule and oppression—misrule by the Government, and op- s pression by the landlord. The absentees generally were the cause of much evil to Ireland, although Dr. M'Culloch had published some very crude and undigested opinions on the subject. The Bill of the Right Hou. Gentleman (Mr. Peel) was a robbery on the prospects of the people, but the late chancres in the Ministry had opened a bright prospect for Ireland, and for humanity in general. Mr. F YLER said, that the real remedy for the dis tresses which had lately existed, and still did exist, was a wise regulation of the corn trade. High prices of corn made high prices of everything else. He deeply regretted the manner in which the Corn Bill had been treated in the other House. The cup of hope which had been held up to the lips was, for the present, dashed to the ground.— After the sun had begun to dawn, the country was sud denly involved in Cimmerian darkness. Sir F. BURDETT observed, that the subject was of the very greatest importance, and if it were necessary or highly advantageous to enter upon the consideration of it without delay, he should not think that it was a go o d objection that the proposition came at so late a period of the Session ; for if it were of paramount importance to enter upon the consideration of the subject immediately, then the duration of the Session ought to be extended, in order to afford the opportunity. Arid then, whether the matter should be taken up this Session or not, the Hon. Gentleman who had brought forward the proposition had done good by calling the attention of the House, and the Ministry particularly, to the subject. He did not concur in the opinions which had been expressed' by his Hon. Friends who had spoken on the question ; but that was only an additional reason for entering upon the inquiry.— It was a great fallacy to imagine that the question had been set at rest. The evil had been brought upon us by mal legislation, and the question would never be set at rest until the matter should he settled on the true and right basis. The subject had been at first taken up by Mr. Horner, and several other persons of great talent and in dustry, and an elaborate report had been produced, and upon the whole there had been no want of attention to it. The subject, however, still required examination. When the Bill of 1819 was under discussion, it was said by several persons that it was impossible the Bank could pay in gold. But he had then stated, that the question was not whether the Bank could pay in gold, but whether the country could bear that it should. It sow ap peared that it could not at that time immediately resume the cash-payments without great injury to the country.— It appeared that the resumption was a great deal too sudden. There was a period during the war, before the death of Mr. Pitt, when the cash payments might have been resum ed without injury to the country, but that period had not been taken advantage of. Mr. Pitt, like many others, was in a great error on this subject, and thought that the ques tion depended on the balance of trade, and that cash pay ments weld never be safely resumed till a period of peace. These notions had been now exploded ; but such being Mr. Pitt's opinion, that accounted for the fact, that there was no serious attempt to return to Feel) payments during the continuance of the war. The issue of too great a quan tity of paper hi - al been an evil, but the increase had taken place so gradually, that the people were not aware of it. A rash step had been taken in' the sudden resumption of casts payments, and those who proposed it, 'and many other able men, such as Mr. Ricardo, had no idea of the extent of evil which followed upon it. They said that the change would not make a difference of snore than 5 or 10 per cent. But the difference was much greater ; for when you contracted your currency by five millions, this mane a diffe; - enae its the state of prices to the extent of fifty millions. Prices were diminishes, and incomes were diminished, and a very serious injury was done to many classes of the community. After the state of society produced by the high prices, the idea of pay ments i gold at length produced sensations similar to what the sight of water oceseiosscd in cases of hydrophobia. He did not mean to say, that we ought always to,rest contented with a depreciated currency. Ile only said, that the return CO cash payments had been too Sudden, and that the first efforts ought to have been to prevent the currency from being further depreciated, and that the return to cash pay ments ought to hay, been much more gradual than it had been. The mischief had certainly not risen from over production, or too much wealth. Up to the close of the war, commerce and manufactures had flourished in a very high degree. What was it then which brought on the distress ? Nothing but the sudden alteration in the state of the currency. It was then that the agriculturists were reduced to the greatest distress, and did not know the cause. They felt quite out of their element, and were like fish in the channel of a river, from which the water had been with drawn—gasping for breath. Then they solicited Corn Bills as a remedy for their distress, but no relief could be affiirded by such means. A free trade in corn, while it would be advantageous to all, would be particularly so to the agriculturists. It was, indeed, a great absurdity to talk about prices at all, until the currency should be settled on a proper and perma - .sent basis. The Hon. Baronet then referred to the letter lately published by one of the Bank Directors, recommending the substitution of Bank of Eng land notes for those of country banks. Great fault had been most unfairly found with this gentleman, because he had put forth this paper, with the view of feeling the senti ments of the country as to his proposition. He (Sir F. Burdett) could not conceive how blame could attach to this proceeding of the Bank Director, if that gentleman thought his plan likely to prove useful to the country. The paper itself was very ably written, and full of sound, good sense. For his own part, he was of opinion that it would be a happy circumstance if the paper currency could, by such a plan as this, be secured from those perilous incidents to which the paper of the country bankers was liable ; and this advantage would be still further augmented, by substituting the paper of the Bank of England, the circulation of which was imme diately under the controul of Parliament. The country bankers issued with reference to no principle but their own private interests. But the connection of the Bank of Eng land with the Government necessarily compelled it to regard higher considerations than those of its own immediate be nefit. The objectiontaken to this plan, on the ground of monopoly, was misapplied. Where, for the sake of abund ance of supply and lowness of price, competition was de sirable, monopoly was undoubtedly mischievous. But in this case the object was a small supply and a high price, which were the very reverse of what was wanted in ordi nary cases. The restoration of the metallic standard had produced not only distress in agriculture, but in all the classes who were dependent on prices. By the contraction of the currency they had been as much defrauded as the fundholders would if the interest of the National Debt had been reduced. He agreed that no effectual remedy could he devised to remove the distresses of the population of England, while the excessive influx continued from Ire land ; nor was he altogether friendly.to the scheme of emi gration, by which the most skilful, enterprising, and in dustrious portion of the population was carried out of the country. Upon the whole, as there were so many topics, of the deepest interest to the public welfare, which might advantageously be investigated, he should support the motion. Mr. MABERLY was of opinion that no sound system of currency could ho established, while the Bank of Eng land had the power of contracting and enlarging the cir culation at pleasure. He trusted this question would be fully considered before the Bank Charter was renewed..— Looking at the course recently followed by the Bank, it was, he thought, quite clear that one of the two things must soon occur—and perhaps before the next Session— either the metallic currency would be discontinued, or we should bare another Restriction Act. In 1825, it was known that the Bank were very nearly driven to that mea sure ; they had hardly the means of keeping open their doors for six hours. As to the Bank Paper, to which the Hon. Baronet had alluded, neither did he quarrel with the matter of it; but he contended, that when it was publish ing, day after day, in the newspapers, as a Circular from the Bank of England, the Directors ought to have come forward at once and denied its authenticity. Mr. PEARSE had no apprehension that the Bank would be obliged to suspend Cash Payments. The circumstances which led to the restriction in 1797 could not take place in peace, when the balance of trade would necessarily be in our favour. He maintained that the circulation of the Bank had never been either more or less than the wants of the country required. Mr. HUSKISSON would not detain the House many minutes, in adverting to some of the miscellaneous topics on which Hon. Gentlemen opposite had so long occupied their attention. The motion was for a Committee to in quire into the causes of the difficulties which had affected the industrious classes of the community during the last and present year, and in making that motion the Hon. Member had gone into almost every topic of political eco nomy which could afford matter for discussion there or in any other place. To these topics every other Gentleman who had since addressed the House had added almost every other topic which could by possibility engage the at tion of Parliament pesdi:vide the opinions of the House.— One of the 'subjects adv erted to by the Hon. Mover was, the measure passed by Parliament, which went to the abolition of one and two-pound notes. The Hon. Seconder praised that measure ; on many other points the opinions of the Hon. Mover and Seconder were wide as the poles asun der. Another Hon. Gentleman, speaking of Ireland, wished this Committee, on the 14th day of June, to inquire into the state of the population of Ireland—into the relations between landlord and tenant in that country—into the mode in which the landlord oppressed the tenant, of which he had given a statement, which he (Mr. Huskisson) trusted was a highly coloured one, but with respect to which, if it were not highly coloured, he would only say, that the evil could be corrected only by the better feelings of the land lord, and not by the intervention of the Legislature. The question of emigration in all its branches was also to oc cupy the attention of this Committee. Another question which was to be submitted to this Committee on the 14th of June was, whether it would be expedient to abandon the Canadas, and separate them from the dominion of the Crown? The Sinking Fund, the Catholic Question, and every other possible practical and theoretical question that could occupy the attention of Parliament, were also to be submitted to this Committee. Considering the very oppo site sentiments of the Gentlemen who spoke in favour of this Committee, it would be extremely difficult, however de sirable it might be, for them to come to a satisfactory de cision on the various questions which were to be brought under their consideration. He (Mr. Huskisson) well re membered the period to which the Hon. Mover alluded; when he (Mr. I-I.) was regarded as a wild theorist, and a dealer in abstract doctrines, on subjects connected with the currency. In the year 1811 he was in a very "Tall mi nority, which voted that the currency was in a state of depreciation, and it was a little singular that those who now pressed upon them the consequences of that deprecia tion, and who exaggerated the effect it had produced on the rent of land, and on the interests of the landowner, were among those who at that time did not believe in the exist ence of the evil. The rent of land had doubled in the last ten years ; yet those gentle Men did not, in the year 1811, believe in the diminution of the value of money, but de nounced him (Mr. 11.) and all those who maintained that doctrine, as visionary theorists, and as men altogether un worthy of the respect or notice of the public. It *was certain that those men who now considered themselves infallible were not among those who perceived the depreciation of the currency which led to the conse quences which bad since ensued. The Hon Gentle man wished that the salaries of those whose labours and talents were devoted to the service of the public should be reduced to the standard of 1792. If a direct tax were to be levied upon the income of the country, it would at least be just to levy it equally and impartially upon every species of income. An Hon. Gentleman had adverted to the low amount of the incomes of persons connected with the Board of Ordnance, as compared with the present sa laries. Now he (Mr. H.) believed there was not ose of the Gentlemen connected with that Department, who would net be glad to be placed in the situation of those who held similar situations in 1792. The fact was, that although the amount of the salaries in 1792 was small, the emoluments derived from fees, which were now abolished, were so considerable, that the whole remuneration greatly exceeded the amount of the existing fixed salaries. The motion before the House was in reality an attempt to re new the motion made by the Honourable Member for Essex (Mr. Western) in 1822. He (Mr. H.) had at that time assigned at too much length the grounds upon which he opposed that motion, and he should not trouble the House with a repetition of the arguments which he had then used. If it were wrong in the year 1822 to depart from the system by which the currency was settled in the year 1819, it would be much more wrong, he apprehended, to attempt to unsettle that system in the year 1827. There was no part of his (Mr. H.'s) public lire upon which he lOoked hack with more satisfaction, than the occasion on which lie had opposed the attempt of the Honourable Member for Essex, to break in upon the system adopted in 1819, by which Parliament was pledged not to make any alteration in the fineness, weight, and de nomination of the Currency. Five years had elapsed sifice the" House had conic to that Resolution ; and they would now'; in his opinion, be guilty of something which would almost amount to insanity, if they were to attempt to alter it. lie should, therefore, give his decided opposi tion to a motion, of which the object substantially was, to introduce a doubt whether Parliament ought to adhere to the standard of currency adopted in 1819. No measure,. in fact, would be calcUlated to create'raore alarm through - . out the Country 'than the' one which suggested the proba bility of an attempt On the part of 'the Legislature, either now or at any other period, to alter that standard. It was a proposal fatal to all the landmarks of property, and cal- culated to destroy all the securities upon which the inter change of property was founded. If the Hon. Baronet, the Member for Westminster, could persuade the manufac turing and labouring classes, that in proportion as cern was dear, their prosperity would increase, and at the same time persuade the agriculturists that a free trade in corn. without any restrictions or protecting duty, would give them high prices, he would accomplish a very desirable object, and save the House, if not in this, in a future Session, a great deal of laborious discussion on a subject upon which all were not likely to agree. Upon these grounds he should oppose the motion for going into a Com mittee--a motion, in fact, which could hardly be seriously made, considering the short time likely to intervene be tween the present period and the prorogation of Parlia ment, and of which, if the inquiry were at this time prac ticable, the only effect would be to throw the whole country into confusion. Mr. WESTERN defended the course which he had taken in the year 1822, and at other periods, with regard to the currency. He attributed all the difficulties of the country to the measure of 1819, by which the currency was erroneously said to be settled. The currency was not fixed ; it had not been settled by the measure of 1819 ; it was still in a fluctuating state, and he was satisfied that the prosperity of the country would never be permanently re stored, until Parliament retraced its steps. Mr. ATTWOOD contended that the whole of the fluctua tions in the condition and trade of the country, particularly in the state of the shipping and agricultural interests, which the Right Hon. Gentleman the President of the Board of Trade had ascribed to different causes at different times, all arose from alterations in the currency. It was impossible to reduce the quantity of Bank notes in circula tion without raising their value; and it was the alterations in the quantity of Bank paper in circulation which had oc casioned the variations in the value of the currency. lite Hon. Gentleman concluded by some remark on the Pre sident of the Board of Trade; which, from the Hon. Member speaking from under the Gallery, we did not hear. Mr. HUSKISSON replied, however, that he never had, as the Hon. Member had accused him of doing, treat ed the majorities of that House with contempt. lie would, however, treat with sovereign contempt the tissue of mis representations which made up the speech of the Hon. Member, and would not trouble himself to contradict them. Mr. E. DAVENPORT in reply, thought it rather hard to be reproached by Ministers for a delay which had j occurred in compliance with their own special request. One Hon. Member accused him of recommending a reduc tion of the standard, whereas he had specially guarded himself against any distinct proposition of the kind ; it being a matter of indifference to him, whether the system, the standard or the ratio, of taxation were changed.— The Hon. Member for Coventry, had said that high priced corn caused the distress of the people. How could that be, when two years ago all classes were flourishing, at a time when wheat was 15 shillings a quarter above the present price, the masters giving great wages, the men working three or four days in the week, and drinking the rest ? The object of the motion, was to enforce the attention of Go vernment to the subject. The Right Hon. Gentleman not . comprehending a part of the drift of the motion, was easily accounted for, as he had been more agreeably engaged than in listening to it, by talking with his friends. lie had . alluded to the discrepancies of those who followed in the debate, as if the mover was accountable for the variations of opinion in those who followed him—but he had not . answered to the principal allegations preferred against the • Administration. He had argued, that because the House had negatived the motion for inquiry into the Currency, in 1822, therefore they were bound to do so, in spite of any . intervening mischief that could occur at all future periods. He had not answered to the charge of utter ignorance of the question, preferred and substantiated against the Admi nistration—he had not accounted for neglecting to redeem his own last year's pleige, to take the silver standard under his consideration—He had neglected to show by what pro cess a permanently higher range of prices for commodities could exist here than on the Continent, so long as we employ the same medium of value. He had said the cur rency had been finally settled in 1819, whereas it had been tampered with by altering the One Pound Note Act, in 1822, and again in 1826: and whereas there was a continual tampering still going on by means of Exchequer Bills, every manoeuvre in which, upon a large scale was, as regards the commerce of the country, a virtual alteration of the standard. The Right... Hon. Gentleman had not explained to the House why the Ministers had kept those large means for their own emoluments, at the time they gave a small one to the rest of,the community. His wish was to abide by the suggestion of some Honourable Friends, and he would withdraw his notice at present, with the de termination to renew the subject at a future period, unless anticipated by some more competent person. Mr. ATTWOOD explained, and retorted upon the Right lion. Gentleman (Mr..Hualciason) the expressions which he had applied to his (Mr. Attwood's) observations, desir ing to assure the Right Hon. Gentleman, that there was no degree of contempt which he had thought proper to express—that he (Mr. A ttwood) did not equally feel to wards the statements of the Right Hon. Gentleman. The notice was then withdrawn. FINES AND RECOGNIZANCES. Mr. C. PALLMER moved for leave to bring in a Bill to amend the Acta of the Sd Geo. IV. and the 4th of Geo. IV., relative to the Entreating Fines and Recoveries. After a few words from Mr. Nicholson Calvert, Mr. Secretary Bourne, and Sir Charles Wetherell, leave was given to bring in the Bill. BOROUGH OF PRESTON. Mr. STANLEY moved for leave to bring in a Bill for the regulation of taking the Poll at future Elections for the Borough of Preston. Mr. J. WOOD observed, that he anti his Hon. Col league were agreed upon the two main points—that the mode of taking the poll at Preston required alteration, and that that alteration should be such as would be contained in the Bill about to be introduced. He need mention only one fact to show that some remedy was required—that the election for Preston endured fifteen days, and that at the close of the poll several hundred voters had not been able to give their suffrages. At this late period of the Session it was impossible that the Bill should be carried through Parlia ment, but it was of great importance that it should pass one or two stages, in order that it might be printed, and the House by next year furnished with suggestions by the parties interested. Mr. HUME enforced the principle of election by ballot in all such cases. Mr. N. CALVERT hoped never to see the day when that demoralizing principle should be introduced into eke tions.—(Loud cheers.)—The lower order of voters must necessarily be influenced, when few by bribery, and when numerous by cajolery, of some sort or other. Their only remedy in cases of ballot would be by hypocrisy, pro mising the vote one way, and giving it another.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. MONK thought the suggestion of the Hon. Member for Aberdeen entitled to consideration. Mr. P. THOMPSON advised the Hon. Member who was so vehement against elections by ballot, to rely upon sound arguments, and not upon bold assertions. Mr. N. CALVERT added, that he had heard no argu ments to which he was called upon to reply. Mr. V. FITZGERALD contended that elections by ballot must be influeneed by majorities. Lord RANCLIFFE had known many instances at Not tingham where voters had been deterred from polling from a fear of its being known, in which case their masters would have turned them away. An election by ballot was not liable to this evil. Mr. WARBURTON observed, that it would be incon venient to argue the question of elections by ballot now. Mr. S. WORTLEY agreed that some change was ne cessary at Preston, but he rather wished laws of the kind to be general. Mr. DAWSON (of Louth) thought no good reason could be stated why a voter by ballot should not state for whom he voted.—(Loud laughter.)—He recommended that the example of the United States should be followed, where elections were conducted without influence, bribery, or treating. Sir C. FORBES was commencing a few observations on Elections by ballot, when he was called to order by Lord W. RUSSELL, who contended that such a topic was not to the question. The SPEAKER thought it fairly involved in the mo. tion before the Muse. Sir C. FORBES proceeded to remark, that in all eke tions an allowence of from 20 to 25 per cent. was made for votes promised, but not given. He objected not to reform, but to this pettifogging method of effecting it; it did not go at once to the root of the evil and apply a general re medy. He should like to seo, as a security against mal practices, every Member, on entering the House, compelled, under the pains of perjury, to swear that lie had not ob tained his seat by corrupt means. After e. few words from Mr. STANLEY, leave was given to bring in the Bill. ATHLONE PETITION. Mr. SPRING RICE, after some observations upon the proceedings of Thomas Flanagan, with respect to the Ath lone Election, moved a Resolution, declaring, "It appears that Thomas Flanagan had been cognizant of the forgery of certain signatures to a petition presented to the House, purporting to come from the inhabitants of the borough of Athlone, and that he had therefore been guilty of a high breach of the privileges of the House." The Hon. Mein bcr beued merely to add, that this Resolution could not be supposed to Om any rah-Riot upin the liberty of t be subject in sending petitions to that House, but was rather intended to vindicate and protect that right—(Hear.) Mr. HUME objected to the Resolution, and declared 00, as Flanagan had not been heard in his defence, uor privy tu. the proceedings, and had not done more than place °I1 :' mark to the signature of one of the petitions, there was ground for consenting to the Hon. Gentleman's iesolutioa. Mr. ALEXANDER DAWSON agreed with the If° ll ' Member for Aberdeen. Mr. SPRING RICE, in reply, defended the course be proposed. The Resolution was then agreed to. Mr. SPRING RICE, relying upon the precedent in th e case of Pilkington, the only one to be found upon the Jo u ' nals of the House, then moved, that Flanagan be tall ! into the custody of the Serjeant at Arms, in order tb at may be brought to the Bar. After a few words from Mr. Mooaa, Mr. C. BitclOt;. and Mr. HumE, who postponed any further arguo l i t till Flanagan was brought up, the motion was agree'' and the Speaker's warrant ordered to issue according* MIDDLETON SCHOOL Sir JOHN NEWPORT, after detailing the advert t l likely to result from this School, moved that directia s i o , given to the Commissioners of tke Board of Educati °ll Ireland, to proceed with all convenient speed to effect 4 0,, re-instatement of the School of Middleton, in the C°7,,; of Cork, on its original foundation, in the fullest me n '' as far as the funds will allow. The Hon. Bart. de cl this to be practicable to some extent, as the funds 030 0 to 1,200/. After a few words from Mr. V. FITZQICILALD, Sir J. NEWPORT withdrew his motion, in the 1 1, that the subject would be attended to in the Board of cation. BREWERS. 0 11 On the motion of Mr. JOHN WOOD, a Returo,, ordered to be laid before the House of the Number of H of victions, in England and Wales, of Retail Brewer °, o f selling beer, consumed on their premises,- in violel o , the Act of the 35 Geo. 111. ; distinguishing the C Towns, and Excise Districts. EAST RETFORD. tbe Mr. KENNEDY postponed, until Monday nel t) t second reading of the East Retford Disfranchisement 5 in order that the Electors might have time to be 61! aware of the proceeding. The other Orders of the Day were then disposed at Two o'clock this morning the House Adjourned. LIS' ON TIM AbIriNDKIIN C OF THE MINOR . I' OF THR OF 111 CORN RILL. PRESENT. Dudley Dufferin Dynevor Essex Farnborough Ferrero Foley Fortescn• Fitzgibbon Goderich Gower Gloucester, Bishop of Gloucester Gosford Grantham Grosvenor Harcourt liardwicke Harrowby Holland Hood Howard de Walden Ilchester King Kingston Lake .ITY 41 0 rsr.urraria €414 Angleses Auckland Basborouith Bexley Bristol, Bishop of Bristol, Marquis of Calthorpe Carlisle Calnarvon Cawdor Chester, Bishop of Clanricarde Clifden Clinton Cornwallis Courtown Cowper Darlington Darnley Delaware Digby De Dunstanville Devonshire Downe Downshire Ducie lAndain Bisho p Lansdowne Lyndhurst Lucan • r, Mendip Milford Montagu Morley Ormonde Portland RoseberrY St. Alban% St. David's St. Helen's St. Vincent Selsev Salteiford Sligo Seaford Spencer Somerville - Suffolk Sussex Sydney Wharncline hOP Winchester, m' Ailesbury Bangor, Bishop of Buckinghamshire Byron Chichester, Bishop of Crewe Clarence Churchill Caledou Carrick Carysfort Conyngham Duncan Derby Denbigh In the list of the omitted the names 01 ford; the names of L and of Lord Harcou; Delamere also voted PROXIES. Erskine Forteactie Grenville Granville St. Germains Grafton Home Hereford Howard of Effingham Lincoln, Bishop of Lichfield and Coven- Ml p a po BPeterborough , Marlborough n n ryeE t robo3b,or:gl:: 01 at Norwich, Biio'r of Stafford Sondes Scarborough Somerset clori Stuart, Castle WaldegraY e Winchester Wilton ,Yarboro ll B o _, jot lay's Paper,:': tory rarrington, ;1514 nly printeo the ruluonrY. try, Bishop of Leeds Longford London, Bishop of majorit in yesterds Lords Stamford, W ,ordCaledon (mistakes rt belong to the list of in the minority. THAMES TUNNEL. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. ~ SIR,—" In the multitude of coun sellors, the wise man, " there is wisdom;" and certain', when a remedy is wanted, the more you the number of counsellors, the more remedy to be found. It appears, by the eoneur,"loo testimony of all the Papers, that Mr. Ba ilie ' not yet succeeded in his endeavours to stop t he le over his tunnel ; and, as the completion °f 1115 y e' dertaking, if he should succeed, is likely to Deo; tended with very beneficial consequences It3.tht country, you will, perhaps, permit me, t hroolr, medium of your Paper, to offer him the cholo,o two schemes, one of which, at least, I think , hardly fail of success. r , 0011 The mainsail of a large man-of-1m covecoved" than four times the space of Mr. Brunel's fts"it'ill work, and has this advantage over it, that t t he adapt itself to all the irregularities of the bed ° river. Let four kedge, or small anchors, be down in proper situations; then spread 05; 1 0 over the leakage, by means of pulleys attach e db the four anchors, and cover the whole surfa ce ) pie' a thick coating of clay. The expence of this , some, will be very trifling, because the la s,' /1 , 2 when it is done with, will be just as serv ices it ever; and, unless the hole be very largeia nee 4 must prevent any water from going down. , •, i If, however, the leak cannot be stoppe" L „ce#' way, the second plan cannot possibly fail of sbli, ‘ although it may be attended with considerabotlie pence. If the leak cannot be stopped by anYb-bioll'i means, a great quantity of clay, stones, and 11 ,,, li a rt ° i ; must be thrown down the hole, until th at the tunnel which is immediately below th e up, and the leak stopped from below, ‘;'" e " f' is done, and the water pumped out of t he VIA hi D i that part of it which is nearest the old leak walled up. An opening must then be mad e „' o, u ; side of the tunnel, and the continuation of o f to pass in a curve, till it is clear of that In 4ft , d r10 0° :, bed of the river which is supposed to be ° I , - a V,' ; quality. To prevent any accident of the )" 11 „0 happening again, a ship's mainsail should arolitr6 spread over that part of the bed of the river t the people are at work,--111 I am, Sir, your °. dient and very bumble servant, Pierrepont-Honse, Bath, June 12, 1827. WALTER 1-0111 closed.attotifiitreeer whicho works II a 9 ' `!.. - 0 - 0 w o f h a UNDERs '--____.'_---•'' - " --- --- -- 0 e cu rr e dT na Et a ..,,,„ water thesesaiutsetAar abf Eoie. TUNNEL colap c ye : i s ini i a d gv e e r w ab a: l s e s: ex :: e d :t c i t o : " i a cw i e i tni d tiein d gt i ffi irneg e a l t il tin t nl y i , nina be e ; :es:l : il;:coly,i,op : ; tbi body; dnyb:a and dh t e a d es a n y tg - hi e ver a o k l ua nma y d e s e t h e o : i t :ty morning e et x hffid i e ) e e c c th ta uaa t vl i le o y n b s teoen w ai h pcu i e c mr li pi t en h d ey entertained Its, re en ll3lllet tbs -' theme l it towardss e e d. p u m T ph l The si e g isoaitfi acidct t k ei :w e , eei n, w af h eiette i chhee makes m th_e en e g a i r n t e h more ie o sec e ; lr ., 2 : 001 0 :4 00 maintained toh t that pow er, density , aanfdt aperture hve . iii , , t o of water below toe - th , et A i in the shaft it een to ; thus affording a a ' u h ab i t pt e . art l eBsyh l e A e ub l s r vr e th b n e i r c eu t w h ce id e t se_ h :b e rr: ;::: ,,' lr : : ::s : - h br° : o°'c: :: had been choked, as that t vi w nc a i te nf fr; hithertdo eliPoi and flowed with the tide. It is on t intend f e 1 (II ever, to put the pumps into full operation .r 44,4" d il a :ac t :de o ; clay may not be interrupted in its operations. ,"` 0 0 time before the miners and excavators can remove ''',:teffi e h , as in be o e r n de s i n • ftahratnvtehrecoarad:sive qualquiso_ gular work. The water, by the assistita:oeill;t4;:o; engine, may be removed in the course of forty-1;001, but considerable delay will be occasioned by tb e ilt i rt ud i d the immense quantity of mud which, by th° °°- „A, v l flux of water, has been washed into the tu n , : - ,„0 , , Brunel is, however, constructing some I nacpj :V; tj which the workmen may reach the boxes 1141°1;00 for the entire removal of the mud, and the' e - e tl , and an increased number of labourers working tv. o ,p the clearance may be accelerated. An addi tl°ll/1 1° lovi e tion of the brick-work, as far as the water has beef? _ at jury is observable. No apprehensions exist ivit • h r!'g 0 1 i t t i n h e e r t e h s d h e i shaft,e ld , yet met with. Mr. Brunel is anxiously oecuP ien _,, % paring a full report of the accident, from its. cornwe a befos capable s h fro as forna t es ak iis e tst n in place, and still not the slignb.-0 meeting of shareholders convened for-next week. ment to the present momgpoedwnoteu,dbwluehlfswPtiressrl: el:tio:e:::htilesh