The Sun. — London, England, 1833-07-02 00:00:00

r' sly to thee, and how would he prevent it t—(dear.) The Noble Lord. had proposed another very important regula tion --that the notes of the-. Bank of England should be Payable znly..at •the places where they were issued. Ac cording-to this, the. whole issue by a branch bank would be payable in London, and the towns. But he would look et it further. What security had they that the Bank of England would continue to employ branch banks at all ? Why should they? If, indeed, Government issued this cur rency, it might say, we do it with no view to profit —we seek only the general interests of the country, which would b • benefited even were the system carried on at a partial loss. But the Bank of England was in a very dif ferent situation. It was a company established for the pur pose of profit, and owed duties to the proprietors of Bank Stock. By the provision for the formation of joint. stock companies, a direct inducement was held out to Withdraw the branch banks, for the bank of England would find it much more economical to employ joint-stock banks, with a few partners as agents for the circulation of their notes, than to keep up their branch banks. The consequence was, that bank of England paper would be payable in London only. Yet this paper was to circulate in every part of E ng l an d . Under such circumstances, no °' Act of Parliament could give confidence to a currency r which had no intrinsic value were it issued by an institu 6°, lion which had t en t i mes the stock, and which was ten °l' times more solvent than the Bank of England. This would inevitably lead to an agio On gold. Only suppose a man in the country wanted to leave England, or for any other occasion, to convert 5001. into gold—he would be unable to get his notes exchanged except in London—that el man would readily give an aeio for gold.—( Hear.) What a door this would open to forgery—it would be most dil ls; ficult to detect forgeries of bank notes at a distance of 200 . miles from "/ the pers ons w h o a l one were competent t o distinguish them. The time at which the Noble Lord be proposed Vais bg measure was equally objectionable. About t bi two month s ago his Hon. Friend proposed an inquiry into the curren c y, w i th a view to its relaxation. The Noble re „‘ Lord negatived the proposition, and moved a resolution, d ec l ar i ng his determination to adhere to the standard. et, But at the mule time said lie would appoint two Com ; In.ittees—one to in vest i gate t h e s t a t e o f a gricultu re , the other that of comme:ce, which Committees had since asei- It' duously proscuted their nqes, had particularly ° l° a. ireeted their attention to i the uiri effects and of 'he banking and Bo currency system on trade and agriculture. What a 161•rnockery, however, were these Committees, when the , Noble Lord would not condescend to wait for their reports t it --now, doubtless, nearly ready—but came forward and proposed this great alteration in the currency, without t a paying the s'ightest attention to their suggeeitees.— , 0 1 (Hear.) He was never more surprised than when the if Noble Lord and his colleagues proposed this alteration, !,a 0 so repugnant to thir former p•inciples.—( Hear.) He had always understoo e d the doctrine of the Noble Lord to j a g be---" Issue what paper you please, only let it be payable on demand, an d i n a metall i c currency ;" b u t to take P , up one particular class of paper, and propose to destroy allotlar class . es, in order that this might circulate on their s a. oi , lime was the most extraordinary proposal he had ever ssued Hear.) One or two pound notes ought not to Tan because they interfered with a gold cut - fancy, but. beyond that he thought it right to have no check beyond that of immediate convertibility. He agreed 31 ; With Adam Smith, who said—. It were better, perhaps. that no back notes were issued in any part of the kingdom ti; a smaller sum than Si. Paper money would then, pro• ua t'lY, confine itself in every part of the kingdom to the eireulation b etween t h e diff erent d ea l ers , as muc h as i t ria tt ; floes at present in London, where no bank notes are issued under ten pounds value ; five pounds being, in most parts hi of the kingdom, a sum which, though it will purchase, Ao perhaps, little more than half the quantity of goods, fl as much considered, and is as seldom spent • .al At once, as ten pounds are amidst the profuse expense 'S London. Where paper money, it is to be observed, is tit eretty much confined to the circulation between dealers and dealers, as at London, there is always plenty of gold ire and silv er . Wh ere i t extends i tself to a considerable part of t h e c i rculat i on between dealers and consumers, as ° in Scotl an d, an d st i ll more i n North America, it banishes kef gold and silver almost entirely from the country ; 111, almost all the ordinary transactions of its interior corn -011 mercy being thu s carr i e d on b y paper. " The same author ; 1 also said, at the conc l us i on of h i s chapter on metallic and e paper currency—" If bankers are restrained from circu -01"1 lating bank notes, or notes payable to the hearer, for less it than a certain sum, and if they are subjected to the obli gation of an immediate and unconditional payment of such oa bank notes as soon as presented, their trade may, with ffr ° safety to the public, be rendered in all other r espects 4°l i perfectly free. The late multiplication of banking cor n - P . , pani c s i n b o th p ar ts of the United Kingdom—an event by re' which many people have been much alarmed—instead of diminishing, increases the security of the public. It obliges all of them to Ise more circumspect in their conduct, and, by not extending their currency beyond its due proportion to their cash, to guard themselves against those malicious runs which the rivalahip cif so many competitors is always reedy tp bring upon them. It restrains the circulation of each particular company within a nar rower circle, and reduces their circulating notes to a smaller number. By dividing the whole circulation into a greater number of parts, the failure of any one Com pany — an accident which in the course of things must sometimes happen—becomes of less consequence to the Public. This free competition, too, obliges all bankers to be m ore lib :ra l i n t h e i r d ea li ngs w i t h their customers, l est their rivals should carry them away. In general, if any branch of trade, or any division of labour, be advan tageous to the public, the freer and more general the com petition, it will always be the more so." This was the reesoning of Adam Smith, a priori, fifty or sixty years ago; and the Noble Lord now, on the Ist of July, comes forward with this proposition, founded on the most slender bo dy of argument he had ever heard. The Noble Lord might depend upon it the people would never place confi dence in bank paper, merely because an Act of Parlia ment called on them to place confidence in it.—(Cheers.) After some few words from Mr. P. Thompson, Mr. Baring, Mr. Attwood, and Lord Althorp, which did not leach the gallery. Mr . M. ATIWOOD said it was utterly impossible for any man to predicate that this plan, which thus inter fered with the .egal standard, could stand for twelve months: how absurd, then, to legislate on it for twelve or twent y - one years? " n Mr. P. THOM SON expressed a wish that the R i ght 00 . Baronet h a d acted upon the principle which h e strop gly recommended on a former night—that of ke,ping i_nauivacemw the di st i nct i on between political and commerc i al A . most all the arguments of the Right Hon. hid, on th e contrary, b een directed against peli tical p ani cs • an. , possible f he would undertake to say that it was im - or an y predi cate that it .man n ld ffr to suggest a plan of which he could 'al'ardmprot „ i f c u saytmnagainst the occa sional effects of po li tical that any bank of issue, wh et h er a branch of the. Bank of England, a join:- stock bank, or a private bank, should be compelled to keep gold enough in its coffers to meet all demands that could be made upon it in times of political panic, would be to put an end to banks of issue altogether, because, as there could be no profit, there could be no inducement for carrying on the business of banking at all. The true question before them was, whether or not they were af fording the most convenient and efficient safeguard tp the Piper of the Bank of England ? The Right Hon. Baronet had argued that they were also bound to pro ßu vid t e s he rcurity for the country banks. That he denied. con tended that, alter passing this - measure of legal tender, they would be leaving the country banks, with regard to , ecurity, just in the same situation as they had stood in btfote. lie saw nothing in the measure calculated to tempt conntry hankers to keep less void than they kept ° OW, beeausiit would be required for the accommodate ai of their customers. Neither could be understand how the premium R ight H on . B aronet cou ld ma k e out t h at t hi s p l an was aren upon 'erre mites. Gold was as cheap to country the es n o t es , w i t h a ver y littl e diff e r e nce ; and that • a , depend ence o f t h e country b an k s upon th e B a nk of England should be either increastd or diminished by the present measure was a proposition which he coul I not Pole'lt•y undeistand. The Right Hon. Baronet bad over looked the real principle anti object of the plan, which was to provide security for the circulation of the Bank of Eng land itself. He could see no b e possible protection that could afforded to the Bank in times of pressure, unless they roads its notes a legal tender, as was now proposed. He admitted to the lion. Member for Whitehaven, that the r i l‘nniel. matte a depreciation to a certain extent, but g o ° l,i, rea tr that thiCli had formerly existed when the of a . '" t° he Obtained from the Bank of England instead 13arolnwea. It teas a complete fallacy for the Right Hon. that tle t 1° niaintain—h e lad advanced the proposition— tohfecmil cauthlatio.n„ is effect of the measu re would be to drive gold out and that the The couti ytankers must now come to for it, et In London for gold, when they had a demand Bank of P. would have to do still ; and making 'gland notes t I 'gal tender would induce them ro take those notes to certain extent ; therefore, though the Bank t_hey would not " °I England notes might drive out country notes, daninish the amount of gold in circulation. could not see the great evil to arise from the payment of 1 nutes Lei ng l i mited to one place i n L on d on ; h ut b e . , i 'ved) with Sir. Ri car d o , t h at t h e B an k o f England would Ye just as Secure if its notes were out) , payable in Lon eon as when they were le , yable it the branch establishments. WWI regard to the questien of lorg,ry, it was certainly Cfle 01 difficulty, but be could see nu:hing in this measure • d I. )_ .A ! acvi p rof gold at dirif rtes 1 el bey .ed, i nd !me! ti:„ L ) l• ." ti ;Icely to increase the crime, and it was for those who put - Irward the objection to prove there w is. For these res. tlns, he trusted the Commi.tee would agree to the reso- lutions. Sir G. PHILLIPS said a few words in explanation.. Mr. CAYLEY thought the answer of the. Right Hon. Gentleman to the epeech of the Right Hon. Baronet was very far from satisfactory. He maintained that the first object of such a measure as the present was not to give se curity to the Bank of England or any other bank, as the Right Hon. Gentleman stated, but to guard the commer- dal interests of the country against those injurious fluctu ations in the circulation by which all commercial transac tions were so often deranged. He thought, if the five pound Bank of England notes were to he made pay able at the branch banks, that would give rise to conspi racies that might be most mischievous. It was said that .he effect of this measure would be to raise notes of :time 51. in amount to a premium, but that might be obviated in a great measure by an agio. There would be no great difficulty in taking a sufficient quantity of silver coin to the country to pay all notes less than five pounds. With respect to the objections which had been made to the issue of one pound notes he did not think that they were al. together well founded. The main objection was. that they bad been the cause of the panic in 1825, which, in his opinion, proceeded from totally different causes; that panic had been attributed by a Minister of the Crown to a want of a sound circulation. In 1822 the proposal was to increase the quantity of bank notes, by which prices rose above the value of gold, and the consequence was the exportation of specie, which, in fact, was the principal cause of the panic. It was a mistake to suppose that the circulation of the country was &pendent upon the gran. tity of specie in it. The amount and value of the circu lation depended upon the property or security of those who issued notes; and as to a panic, if it should occur, it would be comparatively of little importance, or only a nine days' wonder, if the circulation was founded upon party. Mr. WARBURTON said that there was but one good reason assigned for the change proposed; namely, that it would enable country bankers, at any momont, when their own paper might be discredited, to mei,t t , eir difficulties, by possessing themselves of Bank of Eriglan , i paper. So great a change, however. ought not to stand train one leg. The great evil of the change was the lost .bility that it would give to metallic currency. For bis part, he was anxious to connect a metallic currency Sriih the feelings and habits, and associations of the people that in the event of any attempt made to put an end to that currency, those feelings, habits, and associations might rise up and prove Lisurtnountable obstacle to the proj.,u. 1;1. n Ise knew that there was a party in the country, and that not an inconsiderable one, always o❑ the alert to get rid of a metallic currency, he was averse to any step calculated to assist them in the attainment of their object. He hoped, therefore, that the measure would not be carried, although he admitted that if it were carried, one objection to it would be obviated by the amendment which the Noble Lord bad made in his own resolution. But he was ex ceediegly astonished to find, after the Bank of England paper was to be made a legal tender, that there was no clause in the Bill to provide for the keeping up of branch banks. It had not been stated whether the country banks were to issue their notes payable only in their own dis tricts, or whether they were to issue them payable at the Baok of England. It was most important that if persons were compelled to take paper, they should have their cho ce on that point. If the proposed change should re carried into effect, the foundation of metallic currency would he very much narrowed. The superstructure of Bank of England paper, which now rested on one-tenth of its amount in gold, would then rest on one-third of that tenth. Another great evil would be the revival of forgery. It was well known that a Royal cemmission had formerly been appointed to inquire into the best means of preventing forgery, and that, alter all their investiga tions, they had been unable to discover any species of note which might not be imitated in such a manner as to deceive the great mass of the people. These were the grounds on which he resisted the present propositions. He hoped, therefore, that this part of the measure would not be carried. But, if it were carried, he hoped it would be accompanied by a clause multiplying the number of branch banks. Mr. GISBORNE supported the resolution on two grounds—the very grounds which induced the Hon. Gen tleman who had just spoken to oppose it.—(A Laugh.) He supported it, fir.t, because he thought it would have tendency to enable the country to dispense with a certain portion of gold circulation ; he supported it, secondly, because it would, in cases of local distress, prevent the country banker from being under the necessity of sending to the Bulk of England for gold. The Hon. Gentleman here quoted the opinions of Mr. Horner, Mr. Ricardo, the Hon. Member for Essex, and others, all of whom con tended—Mr. Ricardo especially—that it was desirable is have as extensive a paper circulation as was consistent with the maintenance of the standard. He did ❑ot wish the Bank of England to have exclusive privileges, but being overruled in that respect, he wished those privileges to be as limited as possible. Mr. FRANKLAND LEWIS was at a loss to conceive what sufficient inducement could pos,ibly exist for so great a change as that now proposed. Could any one who contemplated the advantage posseEped by a min who had a bank-note in his hand, for which be felt that he could get gold whenever he chose, or who remembered the evils which had resulted from the suspension of cash payments by the Bank of England, be seriously of opinion that, under any circumstances, Bank of England notes ought to be made a legal tender? Why endanger the security of our circulation without any cause whatever? And that it would be endangered, he was confident no one who was acquainted with the subject, and who saw the proposition as it now stood, could deny. He contended that the amount of gold in circulation would not be in the slightest degree diminished by the plan. The country bankers would not require to retain so much, and therefore snore would be left in circulation. There was no induce ment, therefore, to warrant the injury that would be inflicted on the security of our circulation. Let Hon. Gentlemen recol'ect the dreadful evils, the overwhelm- ing misery, occasioned by the panic of 1825. The run on the country banks was the circumstance which caused the pressure on the Bank of England ; and this, it was well known, was commenced by the holders of one and two pound notes. They had already diminished the circula of the country hanks by one-third, and pro tanto added to the security of the currency ; and why, having thus filled the lower circles with gold, should they now resolve upon such a step as this? He had no objection to a voluntary tender ; but a compulsory one, such as proposed, be consi dered to he fraught with most tremendous Mr. COBBETT rose merely to say a word about the authorities quoted by the Hon. Member for Derbyshire (Mr. Gisborne). He knew well what those authorities were. The first was Mr. Horner. Well, this Mr. Hor ner was chairman of the Committee of 1811, which recommended a law to compel the Bank to pay in gold in two years from that time, which, if attempted, the whole concern would at once have been blown up. So much for No. I.—(A laugh.) The second was Mr Ri cardo. It was well known he had in 1819 voted for the Bill, which said they should pay in gold in 1823. So touch for No. 2. And the third auth ri y which had been quoted was the Hon. Member for B-st.a. (Mr. Baring). He quoted Mr. Horner, who said ti ac the ehange and effect of it would only be felt during the tran,tion from paper to gold ; and when they got to the trouble would be over. Now the only error here was, that Mr. Horner did not contempla.e '11:. change tak ing place at a time when the c entry was bur dened wi:h a debt of 800 miliihns.—(llear, hear.) These were the three authorities of the Hon. Member fur Derbyshire. He would teat row enter into the qt: , :.;tion, though he would stale that he certainly differed us to the legal tender, as he had before done. At the proper time lie would freely state his opinions. He for one was not for patching up, but for coining at once to that settlement which would give the King's coin to themselves during their lives, and to their children atter thi-m. Mr. RICHARDS said, if the measure proposed by the Noble Lord had been in force in 1797, there would not have been a panic, and of course they would not have had the Restriction Act. The measure was well calculated to prevent the danger which arose froth persons going all at once—as it were simultaneously—(A laugh)—with their notes to the Bank, and he trusted the Noble Lord would not he diverted, by any arguments he had heard, from pressing it forward. Mr. GRO I E must admit that up to a short time ago this arra• ure met with his concurrence; but subsequent inquiry had convinced him that it was calculated to effect more harm—(Hear, bear) —than good for the country. He was perfectly ready to admit, that to a consider •ble extent it would be advantageous in distrusting (assuming it was not carried too far) the country circulation ; but there would be no advantage at all it the feeling should be carried, as possibly it might be, to a distrust of the circu lation even of the Bank itself. The measure did not give the means, as he once believed it did, for maintaining what he might term the retail circulation of coin. On that ground, lie must withhold his asse nt from it. H , admitted that, trom the competition which would aris e amongst the country banks, gout would be extended over many of their localities ; but he doubted if it would be so to a proper extent all over England. There would not b e , in his opinion, an adequate supply of specie over the poor districts as well as the rich ones, in tact, there would be a certain commission charged on gold over that which would be demanded for notes. This had been the case in Manchester on the establishment of the branch bank, to the extent of one-eighth, arid the knowledge of the fact had tended materially to alter his views upon the subject. It would prove a great hardship on the poor and remote districts, more especially those far distant from a town where there was a branch bank. A further reason for his present vi?w of the subject wag, that the working of this clause would have the effect of hindering small depositors —men who bad their thirty or forty pounds—from carry ing gold to the country bank. They took it there now because they knew they could have it back on demand, but they would, of course, cease to do so when they had no longer a legal title to its repayment in the same coin in which it was deposited. Thus would they deprive country hankers of the means of conferring benefit on their neigh . .. bourhood, for it was by hoarding these small savings that they were afterwards enabled to spread their capital aver the country. It was from the great suspicion he now entertain"d that there would be a deficiency of local specie, and that consequently there would be a great liability to the occurrence of a commercial panic—it was iu a great measure from a suspicion on that head, that he should withhold his assent from the present Bill. He could not give his consent to the measure unless he saw perfectly that there would be always a sufficient amount of specie distributed through the country, and he must say that he did not see any provision for such a rtsult in the present Bill, nor was he convinced that such would be its effect. He had a ftrther distiust of this measure from the cir- cuinstance that it was adopted and praised by gentlemen who held certain opinions on the question of the currency, which he had no doubt they held sincerely enough, but which he could not avoid as considering likely to be inju riot'. to the country if they were adopted. He thought that they ought to refrain from any alteration of the currency such as was now proposed, without having first proved to them that there was a clear and distinct evil to be reme died, and that the remedy itself was one that not only would meet the evil to he provided against, but that would not occision an evil of a different kind, and perhaps 01 a greater extent.—(Hear ) This was the more necessary, as there was scarcely any evil that could happen that would not be ascribed in the minds of most men to a change in the currency. It was always made responsible for all the distresses that might ',AA the country at that period. This might he right or it. might be wrong, but the tact was so. He should not pretend to say that the present system of the currency was free from all imagi nary obj-cations ; but so far a. he knew, there were none to which it way liable, against which might not he op posed equal if not greater objections in the no.v pro posed. Till, therefore, the danger to be remedied and the safety of the remedy itself were fully made out, he should not feel himself at liberty to accede to the Noble Lord's propositions. He knew that what he had now said was not in accordance with his former opinions on this subject; he di.tinctly called the attention of the House to the fact ; but more extended experience hail had the effect of show ing him his mistake, and he left this confession of his error, which truth required him to make, to operate on his repu tation as gentlemen might think fit it should. Lord A LTHORP onserved, that the change in the Hon. Member's opinions had taken place since the evidence he gave before the Committee on the Bank Charter, and cer tainly the Hon. Member had little right to find fault with his (Lord Aithorp's) opinions, since those opinions had been much influenced by the suggestions of the Hon. Member, as given in that evidence.—(Hear.) The Noble Lord then referred to some answers of the Hon. Member, to show that, in those answers, the payment of country hank notes by Bank of England notes had been recom mended. The Hon. Gentleman, however, now said that, since giving that evidence, other circumstances coming to his knowledge bad altered his opinions, and especially the fact of the commission paid fur gold in Lancashire since the establishment of the branch banks. He must say that lie could not agree with the Hon. Member in supposing that the poorer districts of the country would suffer from this measure; indeed, he believed that all the evils anticipated by the Hon. Member as likely to occur in such districts would be prevented by the competition among the country bankers. The Han. Member had supposed that the poorer classes of tradesmen in the country would dislike to place coin in the bands of the country bankers, because they would not be able to draw it out again. Now, though they would not, under this Bill, have exactly a legal claim to draw it out again, yet, if there were two batiks in one place, and one was ready to pay, when required, in gold, and the other was not ready to do so, that difference in their mode of dealing would make the people select one of these banks in preference to the other, and that selection would cure the evil. He believed that the anticipated evils were never likely to be felt except in times of great difficulty, and against such occasions the measure bad endeavoured to pro vide. In times of difficulty it was of the greatest possible importance to increase the security of the Bank of England—and times of difficulty like those of 1825 might again occur. But then, said the Hen. Member for Bridport, the effect of this measure must be to tend to produce a considerable depreciation in the standard of value. The Hon. Member knew as well as any one, that the effect of such a circumstance would be to torn the foreign exchanges ag-inst this country, and that being so, the Bank must have such a drain of gold as would have the effect of restoring the exchanges. There was nothing but a B ink Restriction Act that could keep the exchanges permanently against this country. He believed that the fears of the Hon. Member were ground • less, and that the change would be productive of the greatest advantage to this country. Instead of affore ing any ground for apprehension that it would produce bad eff-cta on the circulating medium, he believed that all such evils were fully guarded against, and that it would be most desirable that the resolution should be adopted. Mr. CLAY thought that the manly and noble conduct of the Hon. Member for London, in thus frankly avowing what he now considered to he an error of opinion, was above all praise ; and instead of detracting from his cha racter for talent and judgment, would only increase his deservedly high reputation.—(Hear, hear.) With respect to the plan which the Government bad proposed, he thought the Noble Lord had altogether failed, both in the point of showing that there was any difficulty or danger in the present system, and that the proposed plan would obviate it. The Noble Lord had shown no necessity for snob a change in our monetary system, and in his (Mr. Clay's) opinion, no such panic a' , that of 1825 was likely again to occur. He believed that the plan of the Government was not calculated to obviate any real danger ; but he feared that it was likely to create some. He ;bought that they incurred danger in infringing on the princip', of the conveitibility of Dank paper ; he should oppo‘e that part el the plan most decidedly. Country banks had already sufficient facilities for circulating their paper ; the issue of it was favoured by several different eta cum stances. He knew that there were instances, in some of the manufacturing districts, in which manufacturers paid their men in a body, so that they might give among three or four men out! 51. country bank note, instead of giving to each the amount due to him in sovereigns; and these men were charged, at the public-house where tory spent their money, Is. for each note changed for therm This wits a serious evil in these pl .ces.—( Where, who re ?) In the manutacturing districts of Lancashire and Yurk shire he had known instances of it. He could tell the Noble Lord that there was already a feeling against this plan, even in those parts of the country where Bank of England notes now circulated, instead of country notes ; and that in these places indignation etas already expressed at the attempt of the Govern ment to make B ink of England nutes a legal tender, and there was already a disposition to combine and prevent their circulation.—(Hear, bear.) What were the inten d oI the Coil,et ea , eact. 1,1 Leland on this part of the subject ? Did the Noble Lord wean to make Book of England notes a legal tender there? fur if be did, he might as well resort ac once 10 a Bank Restriction Act, the evils of which he bad just confessed.—(Hear, hear.) Si persuaded were the Ame ricans of the necessity of a perfect convertrbility of paper into a gold, that there were no charters now given to incorporate banks there, except upon the condition that they were to be forfeited the moment they were unable tin pay a single sum in gold. Mr. JOHN SMITH praised the conduct of the Bank of England in 1825, and in opposition to the Hon. Member who bad Just sat down, must express los belief that such a panic was likely again to occur. It was the interest of every man in the country to protect the credit of the country, and such another event might he produc tive of the most serious consequences, if some measure, such as that of making Bank notes a legal tender, was not adopted. He dril nut imagine that if Bank notes were made a legal tender, it woula produce any scarcity of go :d. Though the circumstance merßi rued by the Hon. Member who spoke last might be perfectly true with re spect to the publican, it did not exist with regard to the country banker, who would change the note without charging any commission fur it. He was not cne who wished to tamper with the currency He thought the Right Hon. Baronet in bringing in the 8.11 of 1819 bad done the greatest possible service to the country, and so much Wa , tie opposer to a paper currency, that if we were to have one•pound notes again, he, though not an old man, should retire from the banking business, and do as well as he could upon his private means—(A laugh he believed that our ruin would infallibly ensue from such a measure. He had the greatest respect for the talents and opinions of the Non. Member for London, hut thought that that Hon. Member's original idea, like that of clever men, was the beso, and he should certainly adopt it in forming his opinion. Mr. CLAY and Mr. J. SMITH severally explained. Mr. BLAMIRE was of opinion, that the welfare or embarrassment of the country depended upon the result of this discussion. He saw in the pion only a very slight advmtage to the country hanker, with a serious and positive loss to the public in general. If the country banker were induced to withdraw his notes from eircula.. Lion, the demand for gold would be wonderfully increased instead of being diminished, as seemed to be the expeeta- tion of the Noble Lord. It seemed to him rather too much to call upon the House to agrea to the plan before !t had had an opoortunity of seeing the whole of it. Sir J. WROTTESLEY alluded to the disclaimers repeatedly made by Mr. Pitt and Mr. Fox before 1797, that they never meant to make hank notes a legal tender, and to the requisition of Lord King, in 1811, that his tpriants should pay their rent in gold, the object of that Noble Lord being not to distress - but practically, and beyond contradiction, to prove the fact and the extent of depreciation. To meet this course of proceeding, Lord Stanhope had brought in a Bill, but even then the project was never entertained of making bank notes a legal tender. The Earl of Liverpool had expressly guarded himself against any such supposition, when he gave his support to Lord Stanhope'a Bill ; and Earl Grey, on the same occa .ion, stated his strong objection to making bank notes a . . legal render, by which they would have been too much as4imilated to the " avilznat," of France. Upon this paint Aso a pi ntest had been drawn up and entered on foe Journals of the House of Lords, which was signed by nu less names than those of Grey, Lansdowne, and Vassal! FI 'Baud. He directed the attention of the House to the evils that might and probably would arise from the adv. don of this resolution, and he illustrated it by reference to the supposed situation of a man who sold an estate in Northumberland, worth 100,000/., for which he was paid in notes, which he concluded were convertible into gold, but on sending them to London, fund that the Bank of England in the in erval had refused to pay its notes in specie. He was convinced, whatever might be the immediate consequences of the measure, that it would entail great evils 'in posterity. Mr. FORSTER reminded the Committee, that after the passing of Lord Stanhope's Bill in 1811, bank notes reached their depreciation ; and he himself had been offered 255. for every guinea he could furnish. No country of the world had so sound a circulation as Eng land, founded as it was upon convertibility, and re.•ting :won the b,sis of a met anic currency. H. maintained that the operation of country paper upon the exchanges was much more remote and indirect than the Noble Lord and his colle 'goes supposed, and that no protection against its influence was necessary. He agreed, how ever, that the panic of 1825 arose principally from the circulation of 1/. notes, and that, as long as the re-issue of them was avoided, the panic could not recur. Mr ROBINSON cont , nded that there was no analogy between this plan and Lord Stanhope's Bill of 1811 ; so that the protest referred to by the Hon. Baronet (Sir J. Wrottesley) had, in fact, no relation to the question. Tile object of Ministers was to prevent the drain of gold in times of commercial panic, and he believed that it would have that eff,ct. T,tere was no doubt that the measure would interpose a slight difficulty to the immediate con. vertibility of the notes of country binkers into gold ; and he was confident that the effect would not be to depreciate bank not. s. i'tlr. M. PHILLIPS opposed the motion. When he remembered that the Bank of England was in itself merely a mercantile speculation, and that it extended its circulation further, in proportion to its capital, than the country bankers did, he could not nut have doubts as to the propriety of making the issues of the Bank of Eng land legal tender. Awl when he saw the readiness with which Hon. Members s , etued inclined to adopt this reso- lution, it only tent'el to increase his doubts; and he thought it, therefore, his duty to oppose the resolution. He denied that the practice, stated by an Hon. Member to exist in some parts of the country, of paying labourers in Bank of England notes, was at all general. Lanca- shire it did not exist. Their wages were regularly paid at four o'clock every Saturday, and every man, woman, and child carried their earnings in hard cash. Colonel TORBENS would have no objection to make Bank of England paper legal tender, provided that were done on the plan proposed by Mr. Iticirdo, or provided the Bank issues were on the same principle as those stated by Joplin; but he had the strongest possible objection to making the Bank of England notes a legal tender, constituted as the Bank of England was. He believed that the whole of the distress which had afflicted this country proceeded from the mismanagement of the Bank of England. The Bank of England was bad in practice, but in theory it was worse. Their rule was to keep to the amount of one-third of their liabilities in gold, when the currency was full but when a fcreigu demand came, they diminished the gold in their coffers below that proportion, and in order to a readjustment, they were then obliged either to reduce the circulation or re establish the amount of gold in their coffers. When, however, they had too much gold in their coffers they I changed that gold into securities. That this was the practice appeared from the evidence of Mr. Horsley Palmer. He (Col. Torrens) thought those two rules incom patible, and he, therefore, saw that the theory of the Bank of Eagland was worse than its practice. Ha was of opinion that if they extended the monopoly of the Bank they would draw upon the country all the evils which had been felt from the fluctuations in the currency, .ind that when they established the Bank paper as a legal tender, they abandoned also the principle which science had brought to hear upon the subj,ct. Lord SANDON said that the country banker had two parties whom he had to satisfy as to his security: Fist, the holder of his notes, and, secondly, the depositor. He (Lord Sandon) tisubted if either of those parties would be satisfied with the present measure. As to the bolder of notes, if he wished for further security than that of the private banker, it was not probable that Le would be a..- tistied with that of the Bank of E:l s ;euri ; neither would the depositors be siti,fieri, because, in the event of their washing to draw their money out, they would be ohiiged to content themselves with Dank of England notes. lie would oppose the resolution. said, that the great objection which he had to the change proposed by this resolution was, that a case of necessity had not beon male out ; and he thought such chatiAe was not to be justified hut by absolute necessity. The evidence on the subject went against, rather than in favour of, its recessity. He (Mr. Ewart) had been on ti,e Goomittee on the State of our C inunarc , ,, and had had, therefore, opportunities of inquiring inro th- sub ject, and was convi , :ired that the currency of the country asit at present stood was sufficient for the necessities of the country. He objected to the Bank of England because it was a monopoly. If there hod been other large esta- blisbioents which would be rivals to each other, he would not object to making the paper of that Bank which had shown itself des rving of the public confidence, legal tender. Neither would he object to the paper of a na tionet bank. but he could not support such a proposition in the ca,e of the Bank ot England. He would therefore oppose the resolution, in the first place, b cause it was not nece,s ; secondly, because the Bank of England was a monopoly; and thirdly, because the measure had a tendency to depreciate the value of the currency. Mr. POULETT SCROPE supported the resolution. He said that some people were of opinion that every limy should be Of: easily convertible into gold as possible. He was of a contrary opinion. lie thought that it might be advantageous to throw some obstruc ions in the way of convei tine responsibilities. The Han. Member mad , some iurtater retwartis verticti we were miaow to near front toe sYtnntoms of impatience whit) p evaded. Sir HENRY WILLOUG.tiBY made a few remarks which were lost amidst the noise and cries of " Question." Mr. HERRIES begged to ask the Noble Lord, be fore the House divided, whether the plan now proposed wis to be permanent, anti whether measures were to be taken to oblige the Bank of England to retain the present number of branch banks? Lord ALTHORP thought he had answered the questions put to him by the Hon. Member for Harwich on a firmer occassion ; although, from their being repeated, he feared be had not done so so cleat ly as he could have wished. The first question put was, whet tilt'. the pan proposed was to be permanent or not? He thought he had formerly stated that this was a measure intended not for the benefit of the Bank, hut lor the benefit of the country. Ile had stated, too, that the Coarter to be granted was for twenty-one years, but that if, in t h e mean t i me, i t were found detrimental to time public, it would then he in their power to alter it. The Right Hon. Gentleman's next question was whether any provision was to be introduced into the Bill, to oblige th, Bank to maintain the present number of brunch wanks? He (Lord Althorp) thought that it would be impossible, in any Act of Parhatneht, to speedy the precise nutoher ot branch banks which would be necessary to be retained, and that some latitude simoual therefore be given. With regard to the third question, he d d not think that the alteration in his origin ,I plan would make the alteration it, the currency which was apprehended. The change hart not been made on account of any doubts wuich he (Lord Altharp) had on the subject, but in order to satisfy the doubts of others: and he did not think that it would be found to Italie any material alteration in the operation ot the Bill. A 57 note, and nn other, would be ionverdhle into gold on demand.—(An Hon. Member asked whether a five guinea note would be a legal tender ?) A five coin.% note, if such were issu , d by the Bank, would cer• tainly he legal tender —( Hear.) The House then divided, when there appeared-- Ayes Noes Majority -58 On our re-entrance to the gallery, we found the House . _ discussing the third resolution, of which Lord ALTHORP appeared to he giving come expla nation, but his Lordship was totally inaudible, from his low tone of voice and the noise which prevailed in the House. Mr. HERRIES made some objections, as far as we could understand, for the Hon. Member was equally n audible with his Lordship. Lord ALTHORP, to the heat of our bearing, said that the reduction in capital proposed to be made would not at all diminish the security to the public. 14,500,0001., it appeared to him, was far more than was at all necessary !Or that object. The less the amount in the hands of the Bank, the cheaper they could afford to do the business, and this would be a manifest saving to the public. Mr. Gtswawa, Mr. F. LEWIS, and Mr. CAYLEY respectively addressed the House, but from the- extreme confusion which prevailed, we were quite unable to catch the tenor of their remarks. Mr. BA RING did not at all understand the object of Government in reducing the capital of the Bank. The only advantag,, it could have produced would have been enabling Government to make a better bargain, and with th it view the reduction would have been perfectly legiti mate. By the next resolution, however, it appeared that no such advantage was taken, and he was therefore greatly at a loss 'o understand it. Lord ALTHORP, as far as we could understand, said that it was the object of the Government, ou the part of the public, to get rid of a portion of the debt at a time like the present, when the funds were so high and interest so low, instead of delaying such reduction to a period when such an advantageous opportunity might not occur. Mr. M. ATTWOOD also thought that no adequate reason had been given for the reduction. The Bank were ready, he believed, to transact the whole business at as cheap a rate as they would the reduced capital, and he did not therefore see why the public security should be dimi nished. Mr. P. THOMSON was perfectly astonished how the Hon. Gentleman could venture to make such a statement as this, so totally at variance with every statement and account laid betere the House. As to the }milk security, he thought it would be fully guaranteed by half the capital. It was most important to get rid of some of the debt at so auspicious a moment, when funds were so high and inte rest so low ; for who could say what the 3 per cents. would be at the end of the ten years? they might, as likely as not, be at 50 or 60, instead of at 96. It was urged by some that they might also be at 100, instead of 96 ; but he be lieved that though there might he a small margin for the rise, there was a very great margin for the fall. Sir R. PEEL said that an even reduced Government debt to the Bank, might be a sufficient security to the public for the solvency of the Bank, if the circulation were to remain al at present ; but here Government, while they narrowed the security of the debt, were about to extend a paper circulation to an indefinite amount.—(Hear, hear.) Was the Bank to divide this three and a halt millions among its proprietors?—(" Yes," from the Ministerial side.) Why then they would, pro facto, diminish the assets of the Bank.--(Hear, hear.) If this amount was to be vested in some other way, there might be some rea son in the thing, but to divide it among the proprietors was clearly lessening the security to the public. The Bank, it was said, was to pay 120,0001. to the public far the renewal of their Charter, but it was elsewhere in the Bill contrived that the public should be a loser to the amount of 20,0001., so that, in point of fact, the Bank would only pay the public 100,0001. a year. What was this com peted to sums paid by the Bank formerly for renewals of their Charter ?—(Hear, hear.) He apprehended that the Bank, on farmer renewals of its Charter, made a bargain with Government for about 280,0001.—et least for a sum which was much greater than the present price of the bargain, which he took to lie, in round numbers, 100,000/., and yet the profits of the Bank at present were greater than formerly, consequently it could afford to pay dearer for the renewal of its Charter. There was one thing he should like especially to know—namely, the principle up on which the Noble Lord proceeded when be made this bargain. One thing there was be would say, that his confidence in the Batik Directors was not diminished by the way in which they had managed that part of the affair ; on the contrary, that confidence had increased by the manner they had arranged the transaction. He did not absolutely mean to say that they had outwitted the Noble Lord (Althorp) ; till he meant was, that they had made a capital bargain.—(A laugh.) He did not feel inclined by his vote that night, to annul the bargain of the Noble Lord ; but he thought that the Noble Lord should give an account of former bargains between the Govern ment and the Bank with respect to the renewal of its Charter. If the sums formerly paid were found to be less, of course the result would be favourable to the present bargain. Lord ALTHORP said there was one observation in the commencement of the Right Hon. Baronet's speech to which lie would briefly refer. It was, that whilst they were diminishing the capital of the Bank, they were in creasing its liabilities. Now such was not the fact ; for the debt to the Bank in 1797, was 9,000,0001., or about 6,000,0001. less than it was at present. When the Char ter was renewed in 1801, the Bank advanced to Govern ment an additional sum of 3,000,0001., without any in creased charge. The amount of the liability of the B ank its circulation then greater .than it was no w ; for the amount of circulation was limited to nearly 90,0001. In 1816, in consequence of some privileges granted to the Batik, it advanced again about 3,000.0001. to Govern ment, arj_d_l_ie .....aaael s ire that what the Bank gave for .6e-talc - renewal of its Charter was 150,0001. Before any correspondence had taken place between the Governor of the Bank and the Government, be stated what his intentions were. The c3pital if the Bank was 17,000.0001., and its profits, divided anmag theProprietors,were 1,164,0001., which he did not. consider a very large amount of profit. He proposed to reduce the funded capital, which was 14,500,0001., to 11,000,0001., and that the dividend should be eight per cent. on the whole capital of the Barak. The proposal he then made he did not consider at all un'ai,, yet the Bank Directors said they could not accede to it. However, he considered that the amount the Bank was to pay for the renewal of its Charter was of far less consequence, than that the system of banking should he placed on a new priuciple. lie haul then to consider how a new bank was to be established, with a capital of somewhat about 10,000,0001., and how much it could effete' to do the business of Government for. He found that it could not be managed so cheaply as at present, and such a bank could not afford to pay more than six per cent. by way of dividend. In making a change, the question was, whether a better bargain could not be made with the Bank Directors, than in establiehinga new bank. Hefound that it was cheaper to make the b argain he had made. That was the princip:e upon which the bargain was made, and it was not on the principle of favouring the present bank. Mr. BARING asked whether it was the intention of the Noble Lord to decide that night upon the resolution that contained the before mentioned bargain ?, The Noble Lord certainly stated with a great deal of ingenuousness, the principle of the bargain between him and the Bank. The Noble Lord seemed to consider only the profits of the Bank with respect to its transactions with Government. Wnen lie looked to the correspondence lately published, it eeeto taiga. Ca. ',Lek last 117,000/. a yid• capital lent to Government, for the Noble Lord took it for granted, that they deducted one pir cent. on the in terest they might otherwise obtain. He should like to know what were the average profits of the Bank on the whole of their capital. The Hon. Member then made a calculation, which, as nearly as we could understand, was to the following effct :—He would take the capital of the B ink—say 16,000,0001. —and see how it was employed, and what was the average rate of interest upon it. About 9,000,0001. were in the shape of Exchequer Bills, at 2} v er cent.; 800,0001. was lent at 3 per cent. ; 100,0001. for circulation and other purposes, at 3 per cent. ; 500,0001. in country discounts, at 3 per cent. ; and there was nearly 5,000,0001. at 44 per cent. So that the greater portion of the capital was employed at the rate of :3 per cent. The cons, quence was, that if the Nubia Lola bad been a little mole alert in making his bargain, tie would have otatained better terms; and there wool have been no necessity fur establishing a new bank. Whets he looked at the result of those figures it was impossibl. for him nut to say that the Bank had the better tai,thie nargain. He did not know whether it was the Note Lord's intimation to take a vote upon that bargain, u ithnu . giving further explanations upon it, and would conclude by putting the saute question he hail put when lie first rose. Sir. HUME thought that if the third and fourth reso lotions were to be discussed together, it woulat be better is afefer them ; and he would take that opportunity of at) tag, chit the bargain with the Bank was a most prafligat one, and that the Bank had its nicompoly continued to absolutely for nothing. He hoped that the fourth res.. lotion would be deterred until has Hon. Friend, the Mein. her for the Tower Hamlets, bad an opportunity of stating his views ou the bargain. The third resolution might IA S?,M•C.r.;,P 311/10 , 1 pro throw. as a matter of no reat.:_c_it ..ut he hoped rode :he fourth wpuld ta• draerretl...Z- Mr. Aid. THOMPSON 441 Oil not join in tb condemnation of what was called a bargain ; and tended that unless the circulation of the Bank was in creased, and its notes made a legal tender, it would not ty a sufficient dividend to the proprietors for their capital. —(A laugh.) At any rate it would net pay them as it hid hitherto done. The Bank could not be called upon to make large concessions; and he thought that the Nolle Lord could not obtain fairer terms than he had obtained. Mr. ELLIS had one observation to make with respect to the calculations of the Hon. Member for E?aex. If the Bank could make a statement of its former profits, it would he found that its capital brought 5 per cent., and not 3 per cent., as that Hon. Member calculated. The opportunity the Bank had formerly of realising those profits no longer existed. Mr. M. ATTWOOD did not think that the Bank ought to expect now the profits that it made in its halcyon days, and that the state of the country should be considered when the profits of every species of capital and trade were become lower. The bargain with the Bank should be re gulated, therefore, not by its former profits, but by the profits all capital was now likely to realize. He hoped that the suggestion of the Hon. Member for Middlesex would be agreed to. Sir ROBERT PEEL, Mr. HOME, and Lord ALTUORr, then held a conversation across the table, relative to the po4ponetnent of the fourth resolution; after which the third resolution was agreed to, and the Chairman was or dered to report progress, and ask leave to sit again. The House resumed.—The Committee to sit again on Wednesday next. .~ :i. __ • ,it EMANCIPATION OF THE JEWS. The Report on the Jewish Disabilities Removal Bill was brought up and agreed to, and the Bill ordered to be read a third time on Wednesday se'onigbt. POLICE SPIES. On the motion of Lord ALTHORP, a Committee was appointed to inquire into the case of the man named Popsy, •►nd the employment of spies in the police.—(This is the motion which Lord Althorp, in the early part of the evening, undertook to move for Mr. Gobbet.) OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH (SCOTLAND). Sir A. AGNEW brought in a Bill for the better regu lation of the Sibbath in Scotland, which was read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time on Wednesday se'nnight. The other ordcrs of the day were then disposed of, and the House adjourned at half-past two o'clock. :From the Poles and Proceedings of tke House of Commons, Lunge, I. die Julii, HMO _ _ .. _ _ Leave of Absence.—To Mr. FleetwoOd, a month—Mr. Hornby, a month—Mr. Henry Grattan, a month—Sir Harry Verney, a month—Sir Edward Knatchbull, a fortnight—Mr. Maurice O'Connell, a month.—• Mr. A. Smith, a fortnight— Mr. Gisborne, a fortnight—Lord Granville Somerset, a week— Captain Yorke, a month; Sir Hugh Stewart, a month—Mr. Hill, a week. Newspaper Stamps (Ireland).--Mr. O'Connell moved for a separate return ordered " of the amount of stamps issued to each newspaper in Ireland, from sth January, 1833 to 7th June, 1833—this return to be distinct from any return of stamps already ordered." . Police.—Petition of Frederick Young, and others, of Wal worth and Camberwell (presented 27th June), read :—Select Committee appointed " to inquire into the matter of the said petition, complaining that policemen are employed as spies, and praying that the people may not be taxed to maintain those spies :" Tennyson, C. Harvey, D. W. Fremantle, Sir T. Lamb, Hon. O. Morpeth, Viscount Finch, G. Hawes, W. Buller, C. Cobbett, W. Es:court, T. G. B. Grote, G. Mackenzie, J. A. S. Peel, Sir B. Wood Alderman Kennedy, T. F. Hotham, Lord Clay, W. Ebrington. Lord Campbell, Sir J. Evans, Colonel Phillpotts, J. Jervis, J. tRISH MEMBERS or making Bank of England eal Trnder. Lynch, A. 1-1 —Galway Macmunara, W. N.—Clare Co. Macnamara, F.—F..nols Martin, J.—Sligo Mullins, F. W.—Kerry Co. O'Callaghan, C.—'llpporary Perrin, Louis—Monaghan Stawell, Colonel—Kinsale White, S.—Leitrim Co. RITZ. O'Brien, Cornelius—Clare O'Dwyer A. C.—Drogheda Vizors, N. A.--Carlow Walker, C. A.—Wexford MAJORITY OF I On the Second Resolution ft a Le Bellew, R. M.—Louth Chapman, M. L— Westmeath Christmas, W.—Waterford Dobbin, L.—Armagh Fitzgerald, Thos.—Louth Co. Fitzgibbon, R.—Limerick Co. Grattan, J.—Co. of Wicklow Hill, Lord M.—Newry Lambert, H.—Wexford Co. MIN O . Barry, G. S.—Cork Co. Blake, M.—Galway Finn, W. F.—Kilkenny Galway, J. M.—Waterford Co. Jephaon, D. O.—Mallow ROUSE OF LORDS, Juzr 1. The LORD CHANCELLOIL took his seat on the woolsack shortly after five o'clock. The Duke of RICHMOND presented the Report of the Select Committee on the Agricultural Labourers Bill, which was ordered to be printed, and taken into further consideration on Thursday nat. Lord FOLEY presented petitions from different par.. of Worcestershire, against slavery. Lord RODEN presented a petition from Ferns, praying for an alteration in the criminal code. Lord SUFFIELD presented a petition from the Quakers of London, signed by 681 persons, for the aboliti,n tithes. Lord BELHAVEN presented a petition from Stone. house, praying for an alteration in the system of church patronage in Scotland. The Noble Lord also presented a petition from the Ministers and Elders of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, against the system of national education in Ireland. Lord RODEN deprecated the presentation of the latter petition by the Noble Eirl without notice, coming as it did from ao important a body as the Ministers and Elders of the Church of Scothm,l. /f notice bad been given, it would have enabled him to bring down communications he hai received from the General Astkmhir— w. l :lf A ' ;"' would have reall: nr-01diir to acquaint the ILA..e whet the real feeling of the people of Scotland was on this important subject, and what disgust tbty now felt in seeing such a system still allowed to be pursued. Lord BELHAYEI\ said he had intimated to the Noble Earl opposite (Haddington, we believe) hi• intention to present the petition, stating at the genie time that he would present it ou any day that would be most conve nient to him; but he did not conceive it his duty to give public notice of his intention to present the petition. He obeyed the wish of the general assembly in laying these petitions before the House, but be thought he should not be altogether doing his duty if he entered at all into the general discussion of the cause of the adoption of the petition. _ _ _ Tne Earl of HADDINGTON, considering the situa ti in in his :.:oble Friend stood with respect to the A.s2mhly of the Church of Scotland, was not at all surprised at his not wishing to enter into the circumstances under which the petition was adopted. In justice to the petitioners, he felt bound to say, that he felt assured this petition had not not been got up for the purpose of embar ras-ing his Majesty's Minkters. The opinion of the Church of Scotland appeared to be, that there ought to be in every school in Ireland a Protestant class, in which the Bible should be the class book. The petition, however, which had been presented would bear the interpretation of going further than thiA, and the division in the General As sembly smile out of that supposition. Tne Etrl of WICKLOW thought the real nature of the Board of Education in Ireland bad been greatly mis represented in Parliament, it baying been stated as being perfectly successful in Ireland. He was quite sure his Majesty's Ministers were not aware of the impositions that had been practised on the p..Wic by it. Viscount MELBOURNE would deceive their Lordships if he did not st ite that the petition gave him great concern, coming as it did from so great and important hody. tie could not but express his rrgret that the (ioneral Ascetnhly of the Church of Scotland had felt themselves called upon to travel so far out of what he must consider their line of duty as to pronounce the condemnation of a . . w b t oo e c r k a t u el, d s e e w i e t l I.wants orr differedthlisrfmer petition idt t l h o e na i n r e w wn n th L c l a : e l t od uadapted c h a a t i v o e n : w )Y' ee f mm o u 'o n 'f d e leegth of saying that the Roman Catholic of Ireland were to have no education at all unless upon such terms as the General Assembly approved of. Whatever might be the Afect of the petition on his Majesty's Government, it was as nothing compared to the publication of such eentiments trom su,h a body. In the minority to which the Noble Earl (Haddingtun) alluded there were many individuals eminent alike for their learning and piety. Among theta he might mention Dr.. and the Principals of the Universities of Aberdeen and Glasgow. The Earl of WICKLOW said it was not a want of ..ourtesy to the Noble Lira (Melbourne) which prevented es from having previously mentioned the subject to which ue alluded. It was suggested at the moment by the petition. The Bishop of EXE.TER said the Noble Lord kMel• bourne) charged the General Assembly with a want of ilaerality fur having agr-ed to this petition. Lord MELBOURNE—I made no such charge. The B.shop of EXETER said the itoprtesion on his h nind, twin the geney;J tenor of the 14,,b1e L.rtre speec , ,s, that he mitaidcred the General A a .eitibly as having +kgr,,e,d themselves by rmeh s petition, wli. ; 1., unles s went to Muse assiatauce tor the eox.,lashatent of sem o f having the &w s ore, r.c ove.l as a woo the condition N f RULO9IIII C a tii,dies,ur atly o t her sect, ;as book. • • Id an opinion that tLe S,tiptures were not fit to b e received is oClitoOlir, be could not sec that it W. 14 thsgr..c t l u l a t h e majority of any Protestant asnihiily to , sprta. Unit