The Sun. — London, England, 1839-07-26 00:00:00

/dIVENING ROM' I I. . . i burden of every argument against the Bank of Ireland was founded on the presumption that the Bank of Ireland would not discount in Dublin and the metropolitan circle good paper, but was rather disposed to starve and stint the circulation within the ct'srele. He had shown that that was contrary to all the Ilrinciples on which the Bank should be carried on, and b,e could show also that it was cerorsr, to the facts of the ease. He had there, in the admis sion of '.he Bank of Ireland itself, as %%el. as upon s the evidence of persons haying their views directed to the subject, that that was a ni;stake, and that the persons making that statement overe wrong. But following up what happened in 1830, A bank c a ll e d t h e Agricultural and Commercial Bank, withi iee the e v id ence respecting which the public was very fa liar, that bank carried on business in a moat improper way, by injudiciously extending its influence, doing the very *cost description of business, and creating an unnatural banking competition—that bank was the first to. sustain a reverse and compelled to suspend its payments. Other banks felt the pressure so severely that they were obliged to have recourse to the Bank of Ireland for assistance, and all the banks in Ireland which did not apply to the Bank of Ireland were obliged to draw largely upon the resources 10 England. In addition to the ordinary million, the specie balance in the Bank of Ireland, it was compelled to call for an amount of specie from England of not less than 400,0004 The Provincial Bank of Ireland had at that time remitted to it 700,0001. The National Bank had remitted to it 2 ,200,0004 All that was calculated to unsettle and disarrange the London m ar k e t, an d greatly aggravated the inconvenience felt in Ireland. It appeared upon the evi. deuce that the conduct of the Bank of Ireland on this occa 'ion tow ar d s t h e other banks was entitled to every praise. It appeared on the evidence that to the Belfast Bank 103,0004 were advanced ; to the Ulster Banking Company, 60.0004; to the Hibernian, 21,000/. ; to the Agricultural, .19,6004 ; to the National Bank, 42 6001. ' • making a total of 246,000/. given by th e B an k o f Ireland to assist its own con temporaries on trade. Now, he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) relied upon this, for two reasons. First, he Wished to show to the House that the working of this mo n °Poly at that period was not prejudicial to the other bank jug i nterests, but th a t, th roug h the assistance of the Bank cif Ireland, they obtained resources which enabled them to tineet the p ressure which was on them ; and he meant to use it also. to show, that if these resources were to be made available h erea ft er, under any similar circumstances, it was an" l ay th e cont i nuance of the present exclusive p r i v il ege , !: 4 if this w as put an en d to, they run the haz ad of all the Pis which were then averted. He knew this was contra mitted, and let him tell the House on what principles. One of the witnesses (Mr. Dwver) stated, and another witness repeated it, that be thought the conduct of the Bank of Ireland was extremely illiberal, and that it intended to break all its competitors in trade. Now, would the House i magine that Mr. Dwyer, who complained of this conduct, that his bank bad received 21,0001. from them to meet his en !fagernents, and that his agent at Galway had been allowed to 11 1 draw the sum of 12,0004 on his own security. He stated that th e B ank of Ireland would have given more accommo ion, if they could have given them bills on London. The Agricultural Bank had the honesty to say they had no se ,e'hur,itY that th e i r bill s would be accepted, but they tendered their own p rom i ssory notes which had been returned from c irculation, and requested an advance of gold or paper on On that security ; an d b ecause the Bark of Ireland r ef use d, security of that description, a gentleman came be fore I a t he Committee, and sa id t h e B an k of Ireland u seected towerds th ese b an k s with a view to crush them. n the contrary, another witness admitted, and a witness not my 'unconnected kith the Bank of I re l an d, b ut w i t h their th erece riva ls—that, according to the best of his i n f orniat i on, were but th ree B an k s at t h at per i o d that did not a assistance from the Bank of Ireland, and that the conduct of the Bank of Ireland was extremely liberal already shown that this assistanc e did amount to 240 000/. l k il gold, or in paper exchangeable for gold. B ut h e now ' e gged th e attention of the House particularly to the charge w hich was made against the Batik. Mr. Callaghan stated that h e thought the B iek had not given that aceommoda- Lon to the public whi c h t h ey h ad a right to expect, and that the capital of the Bank should be applied for the be 'fit of th e pu b lic, instead of being tied up in the funds. M. Dunn said the Bulk had not extended accommodation whto the public, in the way which it might have done—that en ever a c r i s i s came, as in the late panic, the Beek had wi t th ed with gr ea t illib erality, and he cling: d th e B sn k an intention of putting down all other Banks. He (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) had shown that so far from this being the case, all th , ,? Banks except th h !lureceived assist ance f rom the Bank of Irebsnd—that ree at ad a te when the Bank itself m;.eht have apprehended danger. ; the ,rt • ed with upwards of 200,000/. in aid o f I , s rival s i n trade. H owever the charge was repeated in a publi cation whi c h came, it sr:neared to him, from some autho , T itYl compl a i n i ng of tle Bank of Ireland, and calling Upon Tito' public to negativ e any proposition for a renewal of the Charter. Let the House hear the following passage in that pamphlet--" Li the midst of general impoverish. tent, public d,bility and national convulsion, we find the Beek of Ireland consolidated, strenetherted, , exalted. Often had discontent and insubordination , agitated and vexed the island ; the Bank had always i stood hale and perfect. The 'rebellion of 1798, the insurrcetion of 1803, the panics of 1810, IPO, 1825, !1536, famines too numerous to be recounted, too horrible to be described —had been encountered by it, had swept by, and had left it stronger in its resources and in its wealth, 'more formidable in its power ; crisis after crisis, convulsion :after convulsion, had fallen on the devoted country ; but the Bank had never been moved, never swerved in the alightest degree from its selfish splendour. It as i- deafly had b ut one rule of action—to make money handv to t 214 1 no risk. All argument upsn the subject had been au,pe.rseded by the one stroll! fact, that from the period I i) ,,‘ 14 formation, its bad debts had amounted only to 048.000/." (we believe.) Me, O'CONNELL—Who wrote the pamphlet? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER could not say, but it was the evidence of their own witnesses.— (" No, eo," from Mr. Hume.) He certainly had a right to stroke use of this evidence which had been brought forward against the Bank of Ireland. Now, what were these charges —that the Bark of Ireland had always met its en gagements —th a t its notes had always maintained their 'eredit—that their security was good—that famine after famine, and panic after panic had followed, and yet the Bank of Ireland had stood firm ; and what was the charge against them—that they had attended to making money, and discharged the duties of bankers as bankers should. The Bank had run no undue risks—they had done their business safely, and when they could not do it safely, they had abstained from doing it at all. They bad done their duty as bankers. This was the first time he had ever heard such matters as these brought as charges against any banking establishment. Could any thing, in fact, be More absurd. But it might be said that these were merely the statements of an anonymous pamphlet. He would, therefore, turn to the evident' of Mr. Ignatius Callaghan and Mr. Dunn, two gentlemen of whom he did not wish to aaY any thi ng di srespectful ; but he must say evidence of a. na cre extraordi nary c h aracter had never been given. brought against the Bark of Ireland was that they reserved a large proport on of their capital in the Pllblie funds, by way of s curity, to meet their en frgagemeats? The answer given by one of these itlemen, when questioned on the subject, showed a _ a t however respectable he might he, lie knew as little of the principles of banking as of the discovery of the longi rna• After stating the amount of the capital of the Bank _ Ire!and, and she portion locked up with the Government, L e' goes on to &tete that they must he bad bankers, because tu tY inyest in Exchequer bills and in the public funds, in °tales shat meet t h eir engagerneets. He i s as k e d to specify ,0 - ise, proportion of ca p ita l, i n hi s opinion, they should keep to their engagements. Afte r s t at i ng the amount of ea bi s Pi o t a! kept lock e d' up by the Government, he states it as s l at; P i nion ?hat the rest should be employed in accommo emndl,g the public as far as possible; and thus he would ee 'Y,lhe whole in discounts, and not retain one fraction to wo ;• tila pressure when the pressure should come, What t , uLd nave been the position of the Bank of Ireland had sai_cY acted thus, when the pressure came ? Would they tear been üble t o ma i nta i n their position; and not only ip.v., _ , but t o assist ether establishments? Another an de e r of thi s gentleman, to which he wished to ' aw the attention of the House, was this :—He was asked t ri A he Was a ware that in 1836 the Bank of Eeg ,,,n," Was discounting at a higher rate than the Beek ;latcelaild. He s tate d h e was not aware of the fact. This i s a the m ost extraordinary instance of total and complete !pesenorance t er exhibited en the part of a person taking t himself t o i n f orm others. He called the attention of the House to this, because it was the opinion the C omm : ttee that the Bank was giving too in ch accommodati on , and keeping down the rate of dis e(a1) t ; and yet this is the gentleman who takes upon . 141 self to t e ll t h e House what the strte of ba n ki ng i s. I n er e twee to a not h er question 'ne says the B an k h ave no right `c write off as bad debts the protested bills, because he cinsidered protested bills to be as good as ether bills, for s e ,_at many gentl,nien of fortune let their hills be protested. .I,.ne evidence of' a gentleman giving such testimony as 13,),.0,awt 5 not entitled to any very great weight. Well, main . the real question they had to decide (for it was the orwand practical queqion after all), was whether it wss as not expedient to preserve the exclusive issue of Batik paper, payable on demand, in the hands of the Bank of Ireland in Dublin and the metropolitan Circle would now refer to et idence connected' With t i h e e Bank of Ireland and eel. ids connected connected with theicopponeets. One of the points t tn il o ct a e t pressed trect u f Il o n a , inbivi t t e h d e e,, C rno tr e ohi!tee Was, what would be t l e i t r o n of issue in Dublin arid the, metropolitan districts ? (question• Pyrn was examined on tilat subject, ;ad be was asked s,,tef 490) '' What do You think would have been the ill Dublin in 1836, if all the various I.a°nnk'mercial affairs Ments, provincial, nations!, agricultural, analneg eistablih ,, I think their had Lad use of issue ?" The answar was, barreesments would have been considerala em reatly increased." Mr. Mahoney had incre ased , gee„ Y siiae,,i 'seece. Mr. Pym, in answer to question 600, had similar nity" Ido not say the Bank of Ireland would suffer any diffi from having the Issue in Dubin. If everything be IrePt within the proper limits the panics will not arise, but the, great difficulty in cases of this kind is how to assign t'"'Se titbits, and if sou have great establishments over every Part of the country, aiid subject them to the competition th at mist arise in Dublin from all parties being so allowed t e ells3 " notes, the c onsequence wou ld b e, i n t i mes of press for, to in crease the difficulties of the parties in Dublin." I answer to questi on 5 00, put b y the H on. Member Dreferamseurth, the leafless stated that be should greatly tinued seeing the n'unopoly of the Bank of' Ireland con. note in Dublin, rather than throwing open the issue of of a 8 to all Paris of the country. That was the evidence "trnan wh o was a backer in Dublin, unconnected ,thaenldlank of Ireland, and directly connected . with the v isa! otir:za:. antalsonists of the Bank of Ireland in respect _ Then forkte re was one sword which he wished the 4 vlemb r. !alik e ' so si ee , ti.,n, 51_. .r.ny to bear in mind. In answer a the witness said he was not so much . tnaftrhalidn;fnflroee trade in banking as he was of free trade in n cY• He (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) R as not of free trade in bateking stay mole than the would , 'and the plan which he was about to propose give gre 4 21 it Was stated fret d' -'m to lahrg Ti an , ,wer to qu . silos . , 'd that the ternptatien to over issue would be greatly increased by their all haring establishments ii, Dublin. As far the evidence of Mr. Pym merit, he war distin •tly of opinion that it would be dangerous to have unrestricted competition in Dublin. But there was the evidence of Mr. Needham, who was connected with the Royal Bank of Ireland, which, although not an issuin bank, was a bank receiving profits and doing all other business. In question 1,674, Mr. Needham was asked whether, supposing in October all the Joint. stock Banks had exercised the privilege of issuing notes in Dublin, the pressure on the metropolis would have been greater than when it occurred, and he replied that his conception was that it would have been much greater, and in answer sir qnestion 1,684 he said, the Royal Bsnk would not consider it desirable to avail themselves of the privilege of issue, even if they had it. There was the teatimonv of another witness to which he wished to advert, that of Mr. Marshall, the Secretary to the Provincial Bank of Ireland. In question 4,466, he was asked if the Joint-stock Batiks of Ireland had been authorised by law; to issue notes in Dublin, would the commercial pressure have been greater or less that, it was ? His answer was, that the pressure on some of the banks would have been grea'er. Then how stood the case. They had had the trial in the time of pressure, under the existing state of the law, and it appeared in evidence that the pressure at that time would have been infinitely greater than it was, and that if they were now to open th trade in b an ki ng w ithi n t h e metropo li tan circle, the pressure would be augmented if they were to believe the evidence of those practical men who were conversant with banking in all its details. Perhaps Gentlemen would. say that no panic would arise—that no difficulties could hereafter exist but an inconvenience would be felt when there was any disturbance in the monetary system. What was that inconvenience? Want of accommodation. Now how stood the case? It was in evidence within the Dublin and Metropolitan district the rate of money, the banking accommodation, was lower and cheaper than in the provinces with all the competition of these different banks. But it did not merely rest there. Private banks had now a full power to issue. 'They were in high fame, and there was not one in higher fame than that of La touche and Co. The Bank of Ball and Co., was also in higt tared t. Did they issue paper ? They both formerly did, and that of Ball and Co. to a considerable extent. But the batik of Latouche and Co. had discontinued the issuing of paper. Why? If the monopoly of the Bank of Ireland made the issue of paper in that circle profitable to the issuer, these private banks being unrestricted by law, and having the privilege, o far from having given up that portion of busineaa, would have continued and ex tended it ; but they had given up that trade. It was stated by the Governor of the Lank of Ireland that there was a lower rate of discount charged in Dublin than in the pro vinces. The argument was, that the monopoly is injurious to the public, and that the public paid more for their ac commodation. If the public were sufferers, the pr ice would be found greater where there was monopoly than where there was competition, but he had shown the contrary to he the case. In answer to question 1,420, it was admitted than the exclusive privileges of the 13ank of Ireland, had no effect in limiting the rates of discount on the people of Dublin, and the answer to question 1,676 stated that the accommodation of other banks w,s greater than that of the Bank of Ireland. If so, it was clear the Bank of Ireland could enjoy no monopoly ; it showed that the pubic were not now sustaining any loss by reason of the exclusive pri vilegea of the Batik of Ireland. But he should take the liberty of showing to the House the great and imminent danger that would arise if an unlimited competition were allowed. Having been for ten years practically conversant with the management of the first of these Joint-stock Banks, he was convinced there could not be a greater peril in troduced into the money concerns of the country than the abrogation of the privileges of the Bank of Ireland, and the allowance of an unlimited circulation in the issue of notes. The Bank of Ireland was somewhat peculiar. I was carried on through the medium of Joint-stock Banks, having a great many branches. He took on himself to say with s me confidence, that in order to preserve in safety so large a district of branch banking it was absolutely neces sary, with a view to the safety of these branch banks them selves, that there should be within the central station of Dublin an agent on the part of these banks, whose duty should be limited to the rersulatian of these banks. trans 'erring gold from the bank where there was an excess to that where it was wanted, negociating securities, etc. These great branches in Dublin h a d a h ouse of business, and in spectors, who passed from branch to branch, receiving re gular reports from the branches, and supplying money where there was a deficiency. But if. instead of havin g that central point of rest from whence they could insp ee s and govern these banks, they were subject to a demand ter a large issue within the metropolitan district, it was im possible to conceive that their tra-sa.ctions would be car ried on with any safety. It would be utterly impossible for them to make provision at once for the whole of their metropolitan circulation, and also to make provision, for the supply of such of their branches as might be dis. disturbed. Therefore he thought it would be perfectly inconsistent with the existing system of banking in Ireland if they were to allow this indiscriminate and uncontrolled issue. If the Bank with which for several years he had been connected, had had the power of issuing paper in the metropolitan district, the very instant that such a reckless—such a daring —and such a prejudiei4i course was resorted to, he should have felt no safety for that branch, which now enjoyed perfect credit in Ireland. Mr. Pym, in answer to question 370, said the difficulties of managing banks were increased by the number of batiks, and the difficulties were not in a mere numerical ratio, but in a much higher proportion, and that now the branch will which he was connected, if they had not had an agency in Dublin to look after their affairs, he did not believe they would have.been able to meet their engagements un assisted in the satisfactory manner they did. He had en deavoured to show first, that the principles of free trade did not apply in this case.—( Hear, hear.) He had endeavoured to shrew that in times of panic the difficulty would be very much increased if there was a competition of issue in Dublin and the metropolitan district—he had endeavoured to show, on the best evi dence, that it would be inconsistent with the present system of banking in Ireland, and the witnesses to whom be had referred were unconnected with the Bank of Ireland, and many of them opposed to it. He called upon the House, therefore, to continue, for a time to be limited, and under provisions which he should explain to the Honse, the monopoly or privilege of issue to the Bank of Ireland. The Bank of Ireland paper had never been the subject of discredit. Mr. HOME—They suspended cash payments. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—Tbe Hon. Member for Kilkenny said that the Bank of Ireland had suspended cash payments, but they were compelled o do so by the British Minister, not requiring it for their own protection. But passing this by, from the time of the restriction of cash payments there never had been an in stance known in which the paper of the Book of Ireland had been subject to discredit, and as a proof of that, in 1836 when the pressure was most severe on the other banks, and when they had to obtain a million and a hdf of specie from this country, the Batik-of Ireland ens only re qtered to pay 20 ; 0001. in exchange for their own paper, and that at a time when they supplied 200 0001, is sove reigns to other banks. He would now proceed to state to the House the nature of the alteration which he proposed to make in the government of the Bank, and he had not felt at liberty to make any engagement with the Bank of Ireland, but he left the subject entirely free till he had submitted it to Parliament, and therefore in the Bill which he should introduce in plac e of reciting an agreement already made with the Bank of Ireland, he should leave a blank fur the insertion of that matter, and it could only be brought under the consideration of the Directors after the House feel decided ,in the proposition. In the first instance the time of the agreement which he proposed, was of some importance. He proposed to make the agreement with the Bai.k of Ireland terminate at the same period as that of the Bank of England. and strictly dependent on the same conditions. When ever the whole banking question seas open for consideration, he should be ready to geve his atten tion to the question of a Central Bank of Issue, restricted within the bruits of the law as to its action upon the cir ' eulation of the exchanges On this qiiestion, which was one of the most important that could be considered, he was not now expressing an opinion, but supposing that the House should b, called oil in 1644 to affirm any opinion on that subject,. it would be unwise to tie up the hands of Pesti- .ne - . with respect to the Bank of Ireland, and not apply the pritntiple adopted in England, with regard to the monetary system to Ireland. He therefore proposed to make the period of the contract with the Bank of Ireland precisely the same. Then as to the limits within which he proposed to continue the Bank of Ireland privilege, Upon this subject he was aware he should have the 'mis fortune of (tiff:ring from many of his friends, as well as of his political opponents. He made his proposition with this knowledge of the facts, which was a proof that he made it in sincerity, and that it would have been more agreeable if hr, could have acceded to the strongly ex pressed wishes of limiting the Institution. But believing{ that not the interests of the Government only, but the inte rests of the whele commercial community--the in. terssts of every existing bank, were completely in volved in this question —at the hazard of any opposi. don, at the hazard of any misapprehension, at the hazard of any loss, of support with which he might be threatened, he would make that proposition which be be lieved to be the right one, and abide all the chauces. He therefore was not prepared to propose any alteration in the circle within which the monopoly of issue now existed, and he would tell the House why he would not do so. He assumed that the exclusive issue in the metropolis was ab solu'ely necessary for the well- being Of the circulation of Dublin. If he was to keep that up he must have a circle about the metropolis. He knew no alteration would give satistaction unless it involved the addition of the town of Drogheda. Now let him explain the effect of that. He was not arguing with those eho contended for free trade in banking —he could not convince them—but to those who thought that there should be an exclusive issue of notes in Dublin, and yet thought that if it could be accom plished there should be a free trade in making money at a place, such as Du:Lida fur instance--he would say this. Drogheda was twenty-five or twenty-six miles from Dish lila To allow a great Joint-stock Batik al Drogheda and yet to presume contereporeneously an exclusive eireu tation in Dublin, was impossible. He would say nothing ab out railroads, and the coesequent shortening of the dis tance between time two places, he felt that he had no right to resort to contingencies —he took things as they we r e_ and he would say that, in the state of things he had men tiened, there was nothing to-prevent a merchant or trader in Dublin goin g to the Provincial Bank or National Bank at Drogheda, obtaining on security 50,0001. promissory notes, of that bank, returning to Dublin, and issuing these notes, and thereby breakieg in upon the monopoly. There.. pf::eirt (";urnhalkibneg miionnplemssible to preserve th e exclusive circulation in the metropolis, if there was an unlimited distant from at a ml ice less than thirty miles .ID)e cu Dublin._ n t a w :y" a tt ( s o" r Hear,md i ffs s. e e oc u ft s t' s re e h rtO. arrangement, aas Hn'neemnoewnt,prwoiclitesehdehdo proposedthis t o scary t ' u f l o o r n m . e Friendo ecas ion, Member for Kilkenny had the reproached him with the amount of the money which the Bank of Ire land received from the public. Hear.) What they did receive from the public was as follows:—O e a capital cf 1 0150001. the public paid five per cent. On a capital of 1.615,0001, the public paid four cent. On a :urn or, THE SUN, LONDON. FRIDAY, J 630.000/ the public paid an annual charge of 115,284/ This could be paid off, on giving notice. The averuge interest on the two capitals was about four and a half— rather less.—(Mr. O'Connell—"4l 7s 6d.'") Yes; and certainly it was more than the country ought to pay (" Hear, hear," from Mr. Hume.) But he wished to state the services of the Bank of Ireland. He proposed to th e House to allow him to bring in a 13111 reducing the future charge to the public from 4/. 7s. 6d. to three and a half per cent. That would make a reduction in favour of the public—the difference between 93,000/. and 115,000/. about 23.0001. But perhaps Gentlemen might say that it was t o much still ropey 93,000/.—(" Hear," from Mr. Hume. ) Would the lion. Member secure him better terms? if he went into the market for 3.000,0001. to pay off the debt to the Bank —would he raise that sum at 31 per cent. ?—(llear, hear.) At the best times he could not have hoped to heve done it. Let the Hon. Member look at the price which he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) was forced to pay for the West Indian Loan before the pressure, and compare it with the present arrangement. But he would consider with the advantages which the Bank de rived from the public, the services which they per formed for the public, and also if there were any indi rect advantages which the public had a right to plead against those services of the Bank. Now, the Bank of Ireland carried on the whole funded operations of the country free from any charge whatever to the public. The Bank of England had, at the last renewal of their Charter, made a considerable reduction in the amount of their charge; a reduction of 120,000/. a year; still every one knew that the Bank of England received now a consi derable sum n o r the management of the public affairs. The whole of the Government business was transacted by the Bank of Ireland, without any charge to the public whatsoever, although it carried on all the operations con nected with the Bank of England. And the Bank of Ire land had this additional operation to carry on: it not only remitted money to the provinces from Dublin, but it re mitted also from Dublin to London, and received a return subject to a charge ou remittances from the Bank of Eng land, of one-eighth per cent., and did this free from any charge. The expense the Bank of Ireland was at, in the management of the public debt, was—forty-two persons, salaries 15,000/. per annum, and the expense of conducting other public business, was 7,000/. a-year. So that the Bank was subject to the charge of 23,000/. a year, independent of the charge on remittances to and from the Bank of England and all, without any charge to the public. He could now state the balances in the hands of the Bank of Ireland. It; former times these balances were very considerable. In the years 1814 and 1815, for instance, they amounted to about two millions. Of later years, since the establishment of the new system in the Exchequer, it had been the object of the Government to prevent the accumulation of balances, and to bring the public money to account as speedily as possible; and there fore the balances had been reduced more than one halt. In 1814, they were 2,210,000/. ; in 1815, 2 660,000/. ; in 1837, only 933,000/. ; in 1838, 979,000/. So that the balances, from which so much profit had been derived, had been practically diminished one-half during the interval. lie therefore would inform the House that he proposed to reduce the interest from 4/. 7s. 6d. to 31 per cent. —that the Bank charged nothing for transactine the public business —and that the balances of pith ltc money, had been reduced to more than one half. But there was another transaction which he must bring under the consideration of the House. The House was le are that by Act of Parliament 900,000/. had been raised by Exchequer Bills for the payment of the Irish tithes. These Exchequer Bills had been advanced as a loan, and the terms of the Act prescribed repayment. He endea voured to enforce that repayment. He contended that it was only just to have a repayment. The House however (he made no complaint, it was a noble act of generosity 'it their part) agreed to remit the whole of that sum . Gentlemen on both sides of the House joined in it. The Government resisted it as lung as it was able; and un toubtenly the concession was net made with his acquies cence or approval. But those Exchequer Bills remained outstanding.—( Hear, hear ) By the condition of :he Act the Bank of Ireland was authorized to make advances upon this nine hundied thousand pounds. They had been standing with the B ink ; hut these Exchrquer Bills had not entered into the rnerket, and the Govern ment could pay them off at par. He proposed, under the arrangement which he now asked the leave of the House to effect, to fund that amount of Exchequer Bills on the terms established in the Savings' Banks; creating stock to the amount of these bills, and transferring it to the Bank of Ireland, the bills being delivered up. The effect would be to cancel that amount of the public debt, without the country being at any expense as to the premium upon these bills, and he believed the arrangemeto would be most ad vantageous to the public, and that it was the only way in which, under existing circumstances, the demand could be :net. Gentlemen would recollect at all even's, that for :his amount he was not at all responsible, that in fact his apposition to it was overruled by the House. He had now stated the transactions between the Bank of Ireland and the Government—( Mr. Hume, " The unclaimed died dendl—that was not important—it was included in the 900 0001 and odd, to which the balances at the Bank were now reduced,—( Mr. O'Connell, " 36.000/. ")—but the two last ye ars were t o b e re li e d upon, as the dimi n ution was tot accidental, but the consequence of an improved system of receiving the revenue at the Exchequer without allow ing any balances to accumulate. The Chancery balance too (we understood) had been invested in stocks, instead of being permitted, as formerly, to accumulate in the Balk. There was one other point on the pecuniary arrangement which it was right to mention. Under Act of Parlia ment 2,000/ had been charged upon the Bank, to pay the expyrices of certain officers in the Court of Chancery, which offices having now ceased to exist, he did not think it reasonable to continue the charge any longer. It might be interesting to the House to hear that the Bank of Ire land —and he thought they deserved great credit for it— had taken such pains to improve their notes, that forgery was very rare indeed. In the course of four years, with a large circulation, they bad not lost more than about 7001. through forgeries, while, as to the management of the public debts they had lost 11.000/, by forgeries. lie had thus stated the nature of the.arrangement which he proposed to make with the Bank of Ireland. He now proceeded to what was a more gratifying part of his duty. It was with pleasure he stated the measures which he should recommend as likely to greatly improve banking interests other than those of the Bank of Ireland. Great as had been the casualties and pressures of 1836, and the proved misconduct of the Agricultural and Commercial Banks of Ireland, the pressure on the banks had afforded the greatest possible evidence of the solidity of the prin ciples of a well-regulated Joint-stock system.--( Hear ) Whatever had been doubted before, never had a system been brought to a severer test than had the system of Joint-stock banking in Ireland in 1836, and it had not only stood the trial, but proved undeniably that this sys tem of banking, if properly conducted and managed by men of business, was susceptible of the most useful appli cation.—( Hear, hear.) Having then felt himself com pelled to refuse within the metropolitan districts certain privileges, which he thought inconsistent with the public interests, he had undoubtedly looked most carefully whe ther he could not, consistently with his duty, propose to Parliament certain changes in the law which might prove beneficial to the existing Joint-stock Banks in Ireland, and he thought that he could, without breaking down the prin ciples which he had stated. First, then, the Joint-stock Benks in Ireland were subject to extreme disadvantages at present; they had not the power of appointing, as others had, public of f icers through whom they could sue and be sued ; neither could they register their share holders ; they were obliged to re,ort to the appointment of trustees for the conduct of business, which was ex ceedingly inconvenient and prejudicial to their affairs. proposed that these banks should have till those privileges granted. They would then stand in Dublin perfectly free as to general banking, being only restricted from issuing 'totes payable on demand. As to Joint-stock Banks not :within the metropolitan circle, they had now, by connivance, houses of business in Dublin, and he proposed that what was now sufferance, should be legal. He pro posed that they, as well as the non-issuing Joint-stoek- Banks should have conferrred upon them the power of drawing and emeer,ing bills, and engaging in that respect in the bus'aenis of remittance and exchange —but if it ia ll well b cwo-errise ee tio ren h e e e g e h r e a. n ..d il b7e7 j t e h r a a t i ttehreinre wheoukldnewbefuslnl the bank post hills, payable to order, or after date, substituted for those upon demand, and that thus it would be im possible to preserve the exclusive circle in the metropo lis ; he therefore proposed that a limitation should be placed upon this issuing of hills, tending to confine them to remittances anti prevent them front entering into city circulation. The limit he proposed was 10/. in value, and ten days in time. He forgot to state, that he intended to propose to the flouie, to impose on the Bank of Ireland the necessity of making returns of their.' lisbilities and assets, in the same manner as the Bank of England,--( Hear, hear.) He was not prepared (whatever might be his opinion) sufficiently, as to tholaw upon , Joint-stock Banks, to propose the same provision respect trig those in Irelsnd, when it did not apply to those in Ireland. Now be entreated the House not to be led away by the idea that this measure would be the keeping up of a " monopoly," as it was called, of banking business in Ireland. It was no such thing. The banks within the metropolitan district were free as to the general business of banking ; their wein restriction was as to the non-issue of paper—promissory notes payable on demand. The Joint-stock Banks, non• issuing►, might discount, hold de posits, and transact other banking business. Take the case of Drogheda. What was there under this system to prevent the people, if the accommodation in Dublin was not sufficient, establishing a bank in Drogheda ? Nothing in the world; the only restriction was on the issuing of notes. It was a perversion to say that he was contend ing for a monopoly of banking business, but for a mono poly of creating paper within the metropolitan district. There was no country which had suffered more from bad sys tems of banking than Ir.l , land. He hal himself seen instances of farmers and of the poorer clas s es being ruined by the failures of banks. And if any thing war d .po to encou rage over issues, and excite speculation, the carne disasre ss would occur, and the amount of responsibility which Par liament would incur would be greater almost than by any other Legislative measure —( Hoar, hear.) He had known, under the old system, notes for shillings, for six pences, for three• pent e —nay, for three half-pence cheques unaccepted —notes pa, able a few days after date, with no date—notes payable at sight, without acceptance; arid other cases still more absurd and delusive. It might be said that this was under the old system ; but under the present system instances equally absurd and disastrous could be produced, as the evidence relative to the Southern B ink of Cork, and the Agricultural and Commercial Banks would prove. The Joint-stock Banks certainly were beneficial ; but cases had been known of eleven notes being off,red for ten of another bank— and thus on forced issues raising prices in one market higher than in another ; and the mischief had been such as to involve the Joint-stock Banks in distress by these iniquitous speculations. The application of the Joint stock Binking principle might certainly be beneficial ; but could not be recommended as the panacea for all evils, as the cases of Norwich, and the Northern and Cen tral Banks proved They were the best security against ultimate loss. But it was idle to imagine that they could be a protection against those enormous evils which had LIT 26, 1839 been so common in Ireland, anl to which t here c u'd be l bank." ar r . Gassatt, who was connected with the no greater incitement than allowing the unlimited opera- Northern Central Bank, in reference to the same point, tion of making paper money.—( Cries of " Hear, hear.") says—" The notes would soon find their way back to the That Was what he called anon them to limit ; he called bank, instead of being circulated among the community :" upon them to step is as the guardians of the traders of and Mr. Samuel Gurney ohserved—" Jlv belief is that Ireland, and to do that which would be most conducive over issues could be • ffocted by any cfrart of to a sound system of banking. When he showed the the country banks." So he (Mr. H.) said, except by House what had arisen in consequence of competition such great monopolies as the Banks of England or Ire in banking in Ireland, and when he showed them that its land. And again—" Might not an over-issue of notes of effect would be to displace notes that had never yet been " the Bank of England be very easily effected by the pur. questioned, and that it would shake banks which the public' chase of public securities ? Answer—lt is easy, certainly ; had hitherto had great c , nfidence in—when he showed and the result would be an excess for a time, a reduction that it was calculated to promote over trading, he thought of interest, and an increase of prices, until the excess was the House would hesitate before it adopted any plan that restrained." That was what the Banks of England and would have such an effect. He believed that he had now I•eland had done, and speculation ant over-trading went concluded the observations that it was necessary for him on, until the only test of an excess compelled the Bank to to make. He was conscious that he had made them most give in. That was the course which the Right Honourable imperfectly—( Hear)—and though he was aware that the Gentleman set up against the whole people of Ireland. resolutions he had proposed were unpopular, still he had He thought he ought to be allowi.d to mention a cir felt it to be his duty to bring them forward. Thank- cumatanco connected with the question of monopoly. ing the House for the indulgence they had granted to him, It was the correspondence which took place bet ween Lord. he would conclude by moving his resolutions, which were Liverpool and the Bank of England in 1826, when the to the elf-ct that it was expedient to continue for a limited monopoly was found to be se stringent and injurious, that period to the Governor and Company of the Bank of Ire• it was thought necessary to relax it. He believed he was land certain privileges which they now possessed, subject correct in saying that up to 1824 the Bank of Ireland was to such conditions as might be provided in any Act to be the sole bank of issue. For forty years it had the entire passed in the present Session. And also that the Go. monopoly in Ireland, and did not extend its branches into vernor and Company of the Bank of Ireland should be en- other parts of the country. When the bank pressed for titled, for all Exchequer Bilis, not exceeding 900,000/ , a continuance of its monopoly, Lord Liverpool said— to interest at the rate of three per cent., until those Ex- " With respect to the continuance of your privileges, it is chequer Bills were cancelled, obvious that after the discussions that have taken place, Mr. HUM E was anxious to address himself to the sub- Parliament will never agree to it. Such privileges are out ject generally which had been brought before the House of fashion ; and what expectation, under the circum by the Right Hon. Gentleman. He must confess he had not stances, can the Bank entertain that theirs should be heard anything from him that had at all affected his judg- renewed ?'' It was a great loss that Lord Liverpool ment as: to the propriety of e agreeing to elle first resolution. did not live to carry out his plans, for he thought that He considered the present subject as one not only of great renewal had been a great national misfortune. He merely importance to the people of Ireland, but to the people of mentioned that correspondence to show what the intentions England.—( Hear, hear.) And what he complained of of Lord Liverpool and the Government were—to show was, that a subject of such inegraitude, and involving such that they considered it a monopole, and that they had no extensive interests, after an inquiry for three years, was intention o f renev ving it. I: was c l ear t h a t th e y had com brought forward at so l ate a period of the Session. He mitted a serious evil in reneeing the monopoly of the thought it was the paramount duty of the Government to Bank of England, and he hoped they would not commit a have taken steps loeg before this to have brought the second one by renewing that of the Brink of Ireland. The matter before the House.—( H ear , h ear .) When the Right Hon. Gentleman had then referred to the question Government had so important a duty t o perform, and of the expediency, but he had not brought forward a single when it was admitted that it was essentially necessary fact to prove the expediency of renewing that charter. that the system of banking should be put on a proper He had also referred to the excess of amount of capital footing, he considered they were greatly to blame fur al. in the Scotch banks, but it appeared by the returns lowing such a subject to remain so long in doubt and un that in the twelve great barks of Scotland, paid-up capi certainty. With respect to the Joint-stock Banks, he tal was only 8.300,000/., while the deposits in these banks thought they had great ground of complaint against the amounted to 17.000,000/. These banks were not, there- Government for the dilatory m anner i n which they had fore, rich in capital, but they were rich in the confidence proceeded. He never recollected such inattention of the public. Many of them had only paid up 10 or 12 on the part of a Government, as had been shown per cent., but their deposits were so large that they by the present, to Joint-stock Banks—fur it was had a great command el money. All that had arisen from not until after three letters had been written that their experience and their prudence in the management of the Committee on the subject obtained an inter- these concerns, and the checks which one bank had against view with Lord Melbourne. With respect to the the other, by settling twice a week, so that if any bank Bank of Ireland he ( Mr. II ) would be enabled to show issued an excess it would be returned upon it again. that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had sustained* great He therefore protested against the doctrine that they were loss by allowing the question with respect to it to have to judge of what would take place in Dublin, if the mo been delayed so long. The Right Hon. Gentleman had in yoly of the Bank was removed by any thing that had stated there were four different systems of banking in Ire- taken place before. He considered the Bank of Ireland land. One was the same as in London, where there was had led to all these ups and downs which the Chancellor one law which extended sixty mil es , in which district the of the Exceequer had referred to. There ought to be a B ark of England had an exclusiv e issue, but there was free trade system adopted as in Scotland ; there they had another beyond that distance by which Joint-stuck Banks nothing to do with the Exchanges, and if Ireland was might issue, b u t then riot being under t h e necess i ty o f p l ace d i n t h e same s i tuat i on, he was perfectly satisfied the paying in suede but in Bank of England notes, led to same results would take place. Why should any man in many of the gr eat e vils that had taken. place. In Scotland Dublin, who wanted to send money to the provinces, be the case was diff ere nt, there was a free system, but prevented from doing so by a bill or a cheque? Ireland there was no depreciation of the standard, that free had been dealt very harahly- with in this respect. It was system bad led to additional confidence on t h e part o f sa id I re l an d wante d cap i ta l , and yet the whole banking the people, but he was prepared to show, notwithstand- system adopted in Ireland had been to exclude capital. int e r the statements of the Right Hon. Gentleman, that He understood that no Bank could be conducted better that confid ence was no t the effect of capital, but the than the Northern Bark was—the shares were high, as adoption o f t h at system w hi c h he was anxious to confer were also those of the Provincial Bank; and when Orion Ireland, Through th e whole speech of the Right they saw the profits were considerable that that arose Hon. Ge n tl eman h e had no t s t a ted a n y reason why that from good mrnagement, and that the people in the pro system, which had b een adopt-d so beneficially in Scot- vinces had confidence in them, he did not see why the land should not be equally so in Ireland. It was true same system should not be adopted within that magical that the medium of this value of property in the three circle round Dublin which the Chancellor of the Excise countries was different, but to that the liaght Honour- quer had created. The Right Hon. the Chancellor of the able Gentleman had not directed his alteration. He (Mr. Exchequer, then said he would show the expediency of H. )considered the distress and the misery of the country te; continuing that reonopoly. He (Mr. flume) had listened have been cause-I entirely by the unsound monetary system attentively to the melancholy detail of the Chancellor of that a' present existed. The Bank of England had been the Exchequer, of what had taken place on a former occa the disturbing cause in this country, and he should be able sion, but every one of the Right Hon. Gentleman's facts to show that the Bank o f Ireland had acted i n a s i m il ar appeared to be totally inapplicable to his reasoning. As manner in th at country, an d therefore it was that he was to what had taken place in 1836, he submitted those cir. desirous of seeing its faults removed. What a different cumstances had been owing to the badness of the system. picture France presented. In that country, where the cur- They did not exist in Scotland, and they only existed in rency was substantially metallic, there had been no com- England and Ireland, because the Bank of England and plaints, nor any desire of change; it was therefore impos- the Bank of Ireland had a monopoly, which prevented that , able not to come to the conclusion, where so many corn- precaution which would be taken if the circulation was plaints existed, that the system was faulty ; an d i t teste d b y t h at test which was unerring. The Right Hon. w act rid of suck a system that he was anxious to Gentleman had found fault with the evidence of Mr. bring the subject forward. He Had alway s b een an Callaghan, in statieg what the Bank of Ireland ought to do. advocate for free trade in banking, and being so he was If he ( Mr. Hume) had been examined before that Committee, the more anxious to maintain a metallic st an d ar d, b ecause he would have stated in still stronger language the devia he believed the country would be far better off if it existed tion the Bank of Ireland had made (as the Bank of Eng. than it was at present, particularly the working classes. land had) from the rules of banking. The mey they It was t o remove the anomalies that existed in the Bank had to deal with, 7,000,000/., depended on the issue of of Ireland, the Charter of that establishment a c i ng now paper and deposits, and Mr. Callaghan had stated what nearly out, that he thought it was necessary to adopt some was perfectly correct, that a banker who had assets or secu course of putting an end to the four systems of b a nking in rities for circulation ought not to lock up his money in Ireland, and placing them upon a clear and plain footing. Government securities. It was proved that Government The Right Hon. Gentleman in proposing to continue the securities were the worst securities—they were not avail present system had stated that he would prove its neces- able securities, and it was proved by Air. Gurney and others sity. He (Mr. H.) expected that in making that assertion that in 1835 commercial bills were better resources than the Right Hon. Gentleman would have given the House Government securities. The Bank of Ireland at this some reasons to induce it to believe in its necessity, but moment had public securities to the amount of 3,500,0001 he (Mr. H.) had not heard not heard a single argument —private securities to the amount of 3,500,000/. and from the Right Hon. Gentlemen in that respect. The 887,000/, in bullion, ready to answer calls. The Right Right Hon. Gentleman had proceeded upon a principle Hon. Gentleman had stated that he had an objection to a which he was anxious to meet. He had said that there free trade in paper, but that he did not object to a free could not be any over-issues that would be injurious, trade in coin. He (Mr. Hume) contended that as long as because if there was an over issue in times of embarrass- the paper could be convertible into gold.on demand it ought ment, they would be remedied in times of plenty. to be held as equivalent. Paper had certainly only a local Ho could not agree with him in that argument. value, but that local value was equal to gold. The note was In looking over the proceedings of the Bank of Ireland, equal to gold for every local purpose and every national he found they had not been so steady as they ought to purpose ' • and unle ss th e Ri g h t Hon. Gentleman could get have been, and from the Report i t appeare d t h at t h e r id o f that proposition, the whole of his argument fell to amount of deposits and securities had very much varied. the ground. If they removed the monopoly altogether, In 1805, it was four millions, and during the great issues then they might remove the evil; and why should this fn 1825 it was nine millions, and they never brought the plague spot be continued in Ireland? for it was a plague amount below 6,600,000/,, which they were in 1836. spot, as it interfered with capital, and prevented fair ex- What was it whi c h the Right Hon. Gentleman s a id en- chan ge , an d thus injured the whole community. If Joint titled th e Bank of Leland to the confidence of the üblie? stock Banks could be trusted to issue money in E ng l an d Because they were a bl e to pay their notes in bullion, and and Ireland beyond the limit of sixty miles of the metro stand a crisis. He (Mr. H.) would however assert, that polis, it remained to be proved why they should not share the crises in Ireland were occasioned by the limited and the power of doing so within it, He hoped the Right injudicious conduct of the Bank of Ireland ; and as to Hon. Gentleman would not succeed in carrying his reso vatßhe:teintenitnrke,adioetftidiciEntsodniitgnillilgdeaimriid.:tal:lN.ie.hooysnwta,temolefntl.:_bullion and assets of the lotion, but that the House would, on the contrary, declare if the Right Hon. Gentleman road Ireland was entitled to the same justice as Scotland. He the evidence of Mr. Wilson he would learn that they never would now make one or two observations on the plan. toe Right lion. Gentleman He thought the Right Hon. Gentlemen had not acted against Mr. Callaghan for not wisely ; he ought to have come forward in January, 1838, knowing that, he should recollect that t h e pres id en t o f hi s when the 31- per cents, were above par. lie might have ownse bank i did int know that t h e B ank of Eng l an d h ad f un d e d t h ree m i llions, and paid the Bank its capital, which not kw raid its nterest...se( Mr, Cecon„li_o No, but he did the Bank might have m a d e use o f for commercial pur nor any i thing ago, C Ameri ca n connection.) poses. The Bank did n o t g i ve any t h ing like the assistance Mr. W ilson, n his evidence stated —" It is not usual for to the country which it ought to do. The Bullion Corn the Bank of England to communicate with us, unless we mittee of 1839 had stated the Bank of England could not particularly require it." He had shown them that in resume its payments, or cmduct its affairs properly, till the 1836, when the pressure took place, the Bank of Ireland money owed by the Government was repaid ; and one quer. had three millions and a halt of notes in circulation. ter was then paid hack ; and he submitted that capital of Their deposits were 2.800,000/, and they had only the Irish Bank ought not to be retained, but should be 587,0001 in bullion to meet the demand. W3S that the paid back. Well regard to the question of profits, he proportion in which they were advised to keep the bullion considered the country had been ill treated in having been in the Bank? It was found that from 1833, they began made to pay an extrt one per cent.--(Hear, been., to reduce the bullion —in that year it was 900,0001 , hear.) When the Charter of th e B an k o f I re l and in the following year it was 778.000/., and in th e expired they might have obtai ne d money at three year of the pressur e i t was 887,000/. So much per cent., but they have paid 30,000/. more than they need for their being prepared with gold to sustain their credit, have done. As to the reduction that appeared to him to He would now tell the House what the Bank of Ireland be really trifling; the people of Irelana bad been too long had done when the difficulties arose. They sent to Eng kept under the thraldom of the mono p o l y , an d h e did hope land for 400.0001, and w h at did the other Banks? They the House would give them the same facilities in regard to sent for 900,000/ Did not the other banks, therefore, commercial transactions which the people of Scotland had, equally maintain their credit with the Bank of I. eland, and would abolish the exclusive privileges of the Bank of while they afforded much greater facilities to the commer- Ireland. He should therefore move as an amendment, on (dal public. Could the Right Hon. Gent. forget that th , ahich he should certainly take the sense of the House— Bank of Ireland had even refused to take Bank of Eng. " That it is the opinion of this Committee that the exclu land notes? they refused to take Bills of the best class, sive privileges enjoyed by the Bask of Ireland shall cease and it would appear further, if the evidence was referred as soon as the notice required by law can be given." to, that the amount of discounts and accommodation had The question having been put, been Increased. It appeared that in 1808 more bills Mr. CLAY rose and said, he did not think the were discounted by tie bank, and greater accommo- Honourable Member for Kilkenny had made out sufficient dation given titan in 1836. On the contrary, grounds either with reference to the peculiar circumstances eo complaints were made with regard to the of Ireland, or with reference to the general principles ether banks that parties did not receive the aiFist. which aught to regulate our momentary system, to induce ance they required. He came now to the 'question. Could he House to agree to his amendment. Wids regard to there be an over issue of paper—coUld there be in a free the peculiar condition of Ireland, as bearing on this ques trade in banking, like that existing in Scotland, any one Lion, he did not think it necessary to trouble the Corn bank issuing more paper titan the circumstances of the coup- anittee with more than one or two observations, first, because try required ? The Right Hon. Gent, said a person might ea: Right lion. Friend the Ctiancelloa of the Exchequer hart go to Drogheda and draw out 50.0e0/ in notes and circa• gone into that at great length ; and, secondly, because in late them in Dublin, so he (Mr. En ire) might say that truth it was now reduced to a question, purely of princi. he could draw out 50,000/. in Aberdeen and circulate plc, for this reason, that by the plan proposed by them in Edinburgh, but in a few days they would be nis Right Honourable Friend the exclusive privilege returned to the Bank at Aberdcem if the cis cumstances of the proposed to be granted to the Bank of Ireland, country did not require them. There was no role by would determine in 1844, at the same time that which it could he said what quantity of notes might be the exclusive privilege enjoyed by the Bank of Eng required—the state of commerce might require a larger or land would determine, if the Legislature should so decide. a smaller quantity, but if these notes were exchangeable The question therefore was as between what the 1 - 1,41. into bullion, no b an k cou ld k ee p out a larger q. antity than Member for Kilkenny called a free trade in banking (a the circumstances o f th e t ra d e and commerce required ; free trade, as he explained it, in the issue of notes) and and it was only by h av i ng a l a rge monopolising establish. the best system of control which it was possible for the ment, like the Ba s k o f England or of Ireland, that such a wisdom of Parliament to devise. The question was be state of things could e xist. He coukl state a variety of tween those two systems. As regarded the present condi instances, as regar d e d S cot l an d, in which a bank having don of Ireland, he would only make two observations; the issued more n o t es th a n w a s necessary, in the course of a first was, that there was no evidence before the Committee very few w ee k s t h e w h o l e wa s returned, as they were for which he had originally moved, and on which he wee a obliged to pay th e balance in bullion, much to their incon. constant attendant, to show there was any want of fair venience. S o i t wou ld b e i n England and Ireland ; and banking accommodation in Dublin to persons worthy to it was beca use t h e system was fairly tried in Ireland that receive it. Again, with regard to any pernicious influence he was anxious the present monopoly should be done occasioned by the monopoly of the Bank of Ireland within away with. Th e Ri g ht Hon. Gentleman said that they the circle of fifty miles, the town of Drogheda had were not to judge I re land by the case of Scotland. Cer- been alluded to. It had been said that Drogheda slayer co mpare the state of fr eemen and was excluded from the benefit of free trade in banking en- Mr. O'Connell.) In S co tl an d t h e j oye d b y other tows. Had the town of Drogheda suffered t ra l not( Hoed c , , t f l r i , e; m y banking system w as perfectly free, whilein Ireland it wascom- by that deprivation? He held in his hand a report of a pletely cramped an d interfered with, and the issues for alarge meeting held in Drogheda on the Thursday of last week. portion of the c o untry were a monopoly in the hands of One of the speakers said that in Drogheda a national en one establishment, H e co ntended that under a free sys- terprise had shown itself, and they had proof of what it tern in •Ireland o ver issues would not take place, and he could do; several flax and cotton mills had been built, would refer t o th e ev id en ce of Mr. Horsley Palmer, on sonic by private enterprise and others by subscriptions. that subject. I n ques ti on 370 he was asked—" nave you But the question was, what Was the best monetary sys_ any ide a t h a t bankers can maintain a larger circulation in tem, and the Hon. Member for Kilkenny had made it so, their di s t r i cts t h an t h e wants of the country require? because he had stated in terms singularly forcible and clear Ansaver_N o . E xp l a i n w hat you mean by over issues? that in a system of free trade in banking there could be no Answer —Over i ssue me ans an excess of prices, having over issue of paper. He had further said that if notes be referen ce to t h e pr i ces of other countries. A banker can exchangeable at the will of the owner for bullion, there only is sue l eg i t i mate l y u pon a demand, and that demand could never be an excess, and his Honourable Friend arises up on t h e pr i ces o f the country, and tliese prices may bad upon that referred to the evidence of Mr. be abov e t h e i r re l at i ve va l u e as compared with foreign Gurney, and mentioned the case of Scotland.—( Hear.) countries, an d i n suc h a case an over issue may exist. The instance adduced by Mr. Gurney showed the advan- Question_By w h at test do you measure that an cage of the present system. The reason why there could over issue has taken place ? Answer—By the not be any great excess in Joint-stock Banks for a length foreign exchanges being against ( Hear, hear, of time was, that their notes mu s t h e li qu i dated on the the iou B s hear.) Hr.contendedll.) that would not occ ur , if c u r r ency of the Bank of Engl an d. T here might be over e a r n e k turon e s e (M_E„wghlaantdherareiaotritthbey ptohawter was,o of giving fella. issues of the Bank of England, b ut i t was only foreign ex giving the changes which Would cheek that issue.—( Hear, hear.) average every three months, which he maintained was not But his lion. Friend had referred to Scotland, and it was a fair test. s uppose, f or i n stance, he took the average of the only instance which could be given in defence of a the month of May at six millions, the month of June at system of free trade in paper. This had always been felt four milli ons , and the mont h of July none, the average of I tobe a gteat anomaly, not red ucea bl e to any rules. Th e the three mont h s wou ld he 3.300,000/., w hi ch would be f success of the Scotch hauling system might be adduced a most fall ac i ous one. m e , Gibbons, in question 1,264, is as a proof of the excellence of any one system. There a w s o k u e l d d — b ; t s heupepoonsseet h e i ssues were carried. to excess, what were banks with four or five partners, there were banks consequence ?—They would return upon the i with many partners, there were banks with limited lia- EVENING EDITION. bility, and th ere were banks of unlimited liability. The and effecting the exchanges and the circulat ng facts with reg a rd to Scotland were that nearly one hun- medium, had taker; up the point which had been so . much dred years ago th ree c h ar t e r e d b an k s were esta bli shed. They handled by the Hon. Member for the Tower Lamlets, conducted th e i r b us i ness f or many years without rivals, the free trade in banking. Why there was free trade in and when ot h er b an k s were established they were banking now, in England, outside the 'limits of the obliged to c on f orm to t h ose p r i n ciples. The system had Bank Charter, and so in Ireland.—( Hear, hear.) There had grown up, it was an exce p t i on t o all rules, and was was the magic circle in Ireland of fifty miles round not a safe instance to act upon ; and be was somewhat Dublin ; in the curious case of Newry, that circle cut sceptical as to the advantages to be attributed to it. off one-third of the town,—if a person went beyond Though it generally maintained the solvency of the banks. the bridge, he found free trade in banking : while, it was stringent on the commu n ity, an d th o ugh they did by repassing the bridge, he came under the mono not break, they were the cause of breaking amongst poly again. Could absurdity be greater?—( Hear, hear.) their clients. With the single instance of Scotland, Could anything be more outrageous to Ireland than that which might be adduced in defence of any system, all the Chancellor of the Exchequer should put his proposi other experience was against him, and the reason was tion on so ludicrous a groued?—( Hear, heats) The apparent. Where there were many banks issuing in corn- Right Hon. Gentleman knew that this question world be petition, there would be a natural desire to over issue, decided by a few. Let the people of Ireland knew from the desire to give more accommodation, and in time that during this most important debate, the number of Meal• of prosperity to gain business. His Hon. Friend said hers in the House varied from twenty to twenty.e:ght, and there was no instance but Scotland. It was remarkable that 32—no, not so many, for one or two were asleep—( A he should have overlooked that country where, of all laugh)—and others talking, so that not more than 14 or others, the system of free trade had flourished for the 15 sometimes were really listening to the arguments longest term—.the United States of America.—(" Hear, ( Hear, hear.) But this was the fault of the Chancellor of hear," from the Chancellor of the Exchequer.) His Hon. the Exchequer, in bringing the subject forward at a period Friend relied on the joint-stock principle. There was no of the Session when he knew lie could not reasonably ex other principl e i n America—there were no private banks pect Members to attend—( Hear, hear)—when nine-tenths whatever. Their system was one incomparably better of the Irish Members, and the English Members too, were than ou rs , w i t h t h e except i on of paper money ; and with gone—( Hear, hear)—and when, by late event s as to t h e sonic few al terat i ons i t was worthy of adoption here, se far currency, the price of money had greatly increased, s o th a t as b an ki ng was concerned. The sa stem of Joint-stock the B ink of Ireland mill make an infinitely better bargain banking in America extended over the Union. with the now than they could at the opening of the Session.— exception of one private bank. The batiks of America ( Hear, hear.) What should have ind uced the Right ;don.were superior —they wer e b e t ter or d ere d , b etter regulated Gentleman to fall in love with the Bark of Ireland, he —comprehe n d e d more o f th e intelligence, wealth, and re- ( Mr. O'Connell) knew not ; but certain it was that the spectability of t h e country, in proportion to its population, Right lion. Gentleman had s and how was it that than the banks of England, and it afforded an instance that the Government, who were now' hurrying the mea to no banks, eith er pr i vate or joint stock, could the sole sure with such rapidity, should have allowed the_. controul of the issu e o f paper money be safely entrusted. Bank of Irel a nd f or so many yeere , to receive 23,000/ _( Hear, h ear .) Th e hi story of banking in that countr y was per annum more i nterest on the money jot to the p ublic short, but it was pre gnant w i t h i nstruction. The misfor. than they could have procured in the mare...'.'t ? —(Hear, tunes of the American b an k s i mme di ately after the war in bear)--allowing t h e Brink of Ireland to receive 4t:. 7'. 61 1814 would be recollect e d, an d t h at a l l the banks except when he could have got it in the market for 3 i- tier ct: t • •., that of Massachusetts stopped payment, and they were for —( Hear, hear.) Now, as to the Scottish banks; /he many months in a state o f the greatest uncertainty as to Right Hon. Gentleman had said something extraordinary the value of the paper currency, some being at ten per on that head : he had said that banking was the cent. discount, some at twenty, and some at thirty. In result of property, not the mode of making it. 1816 the pressure of these evils led to the este- Why, if banking were good for anything, it must be as a hlisliment of the United Stites Bank hating a charter stimulus to productiveness, c:eatiee, thereby, additional for twenty years, and a capital of thirty-five millions of . wealth. —(llear. ) Then the Right Hon Gentleman said dollars, and without being a Government establishment, we could not compare the banks in Ireland with those in it was one so far that they were the bankers of the public, Scotland ; but he had not said why —except, forsooth, the central Government becoming shareholders to the that the Scotch banks had capital in the funds to amount of 7.000,000 dollars—one-filth of the capital. It the enormous amount of 9,000,0001. A large sum, was allowed by all the best authorities on American finance truly—but look at the Irish banks, and their large that that b ink had been mainly instrumental in restoring a paid up capitals.—( Hear, hear.) He (Mr. O'Connell) sound currency in America. In 1820 there were 304 would venture to assert that, on a comparison, it would be banks in the United States. In 1830 there were 320 found that there were greater capials in the Irish banks banks having a circulation of 61,000,000 dollars. Very I than the Scotch, in proportion to the number. But sup shortly after 1830 there began that quarrel between the pose he was wrong in that, what were the Scottish banks, President of the United St a t es an d G enera l J ac k son, but the result of a hundred years of successful trading? which had been followed up by Mr. Van Buren and the Look at the comparative states of Ireland and Scot- Bank of the United States, which had assumed a political land. Scotland was what Ireland is now, when the character, and ended in the refusal of the Government to banking system commenced. Scotland had now become ' renew the charter of the Bank. They demanded to be one of the most agricultural, and, generally, one repaid their portion of the capital ; they took away the Go- of the most improved countries in the world, vernment deposits, and distributed them among a number considering her soil and climate. Ireland, with soil and of the State Batiks. It was clear between 1830 and 1834 climate infinitely superior, was the poorest in the world. that the charter would not he renewed. Now what was Scotland had enjoyed the free banking system during ; the the number of banks in 1834? The number had increased entire period. Ireland had been under the monopoly : to 506, havi ng a circulation of 94,000,0001, being an in • in the former case there hid been prosperity—distress and crease of 50 per cent. upon the four preceding years. In misery in the other.--( Hear, hear.) Shall the Chan -1836 the number had increased to 567, with a circulation of cellor of the Exchequer say then, that there was no 140,000,000/, and in 1837 they had increased to 677 with comparison between the two counties? There is no a circulation of 185,000,0001. Now here was free trade comparison, because the remedy had riot been in its best form, under which his Hon Friend said it tried in Ireland as it had been in Scotland, would be impossible there should be any exc ess . B u t his whete it had succeeded well.—( Hear, hear.) Facts should Hon. Friend relied on the power of exchanging not e s into be considered on this point. Outside the circle of the specie. What was the tact in America ? There was Bank of England, the Joint-stock Banks had been per. this penalty, that when they declined on demand to nay in nutted, and had answered admirably, said the Chancellor specie, the holder of a note might recover twenty.four per of the Exchequer. Whet was there in that circle to cent. interest on the amount of it. The Government had make the difference? Was there magic in the line, that taken great pains to afford security, but the result had there should be prudence and prosperity on one side of it, been that, from 1834 to 1837, there was an increase of 95 ruin and recklessness on the other? Where was tiro con • per cent. Where was the check during that period of mon sense of the distinction ? ( H,ar.) Would the three years ? It was, that at that time every bank in the Chancellor of the Exchequer say that in Scotland, from United States stopped payment.—( Hear.) Now, from the first institution of the Banks, they had always been able 1834 to 1837, what was the increase in the currency in the to resist danger ? If he did, he would show himself quite country, subject to the wretched monopoly of the Bank ignorant of the history of banking in Scotland, for when of England. In the beginning of 1836 the issue of' the it first began, the bankers put on their notes "payable at Bank of England was 17,000,000/. and of private and sight, or within six months after"--at the option of the Joint-stock Banks 10,000,000/ , making a total of bankers—it was not done now, their credit having 27,000,000/. In 1837 the issues of the Bank of England been by long trial established ; but at starting they amouuted to 18,000,000/ , and of the Joint-stock Banks had thus preserved a security which the Irish 12,000,000/., together 30,000 000/., being an increase of bankers needed not. The instance, then, of the Scotch twelve per cent. While under the American system there Banks was one which the Chancellor of the Exchequer had been an advance of 95 per cent., and every bank would find it impossible to trample upon, or sneer down— stopped payment, under our system the increase had been it was one of great success and prosperity.--( Hear, hear.) only 12 per cent. One system Was incomparably safer as Now in Ireland it was most necessary to attract capital by illustrated by that country, which alone could furnish a means of the Joint-stock Banks, for there was a per perfect illustration. —( Hear, hear.) He contended petual drain, by absenteeism, of nine-tenths of the re that such were the inevitable results of free trade in venue.—( Hear, hear.) The capital of the farmers paper. If it were not redeemable in specie, it would have accumulated largely, but fur this drain, must depreciate very largely in value, as was which dissipated it as fast as it was raised,—( H ear , h ear,) the case in England durin g th e res t r i ct i on o f the Bank —and the fostering system of the joint stuck pl an was , Charter, and as it had been the case in Russia, and other therefore, especially required.—( Hear, hear.) The despotic countries, where it f e ll t o one-third.—(Hear, Chancellor of the Exchequer had said, fursooth, that the hear.) His Hon. Friend had alluded to France, and Bank of Ireland was not a monopoly, but an exclusive said that since 1791 there had been no occasion for the privilege ! This would not do for the shrewd Irish people. legislature to interfere. But. France presented a remark- What was a monoply, but an exclusive privilege ?—( Hear, able contrast to this country. The amount of specie in and a laugh.) Let the Right Hon. Gentleman declare circulation there was 85,000,000/., whilst the amount of boldly that he wanted a monopoly, for that was the bank notes was only 12 000,000/. truth, and display it in all its naked deformity.--(Hear.) Mr. Alderman THOMPSON—Sterling ? Now he (Mr. O'Connell) declared that there was no reason Mr. CLAY—Yes. No wonder that theirs was a why the Bank of Ireland should have these exclusive pri sound system, and that whilst this country and America vileges—that there was no contract for it, unless it was had experienced great commercial distress, France had renewed—(llear, hear)—that, on the contrary, there were hardly had any disturbance in her monetary system, not pledges which would be violated by renewing the Charter even when her soil was occupied by the Ailied army. —that when the Hibernian Bank was about to be established, There was ene other observation worthy of notice. His several persons waited on Mr. Huskiason and Lord Ripon Hon. Friend had asked whether the Bank of Ireland could (then Mr. Robinson) and were told that the Bank Charter not be repaid their capital, and thus enabled to give larger would not be renewed, and that on this distinet pledge accommodation and snore discount'_? This was a misap- the sum of 225,000/. was subscribed for the enterprise— prehension of the real principle of banking, which this was on the evidence of Mr. Callagban--and when did not consist is lending one's own money, parties waited on the now Chancellor of the Exchequer but the money of other people; banking was last year, be said he would not pledge himself, but asked in short, the collecting and . re-distributing of money--a if they would b e satisfied with the Bank privileges being deposit, where surplus capital met interests that had no confined within a circuit of ten or fifteen miles round capital.—( Hear, hear.) His Hon. Friend's notions on the Dublin, and they replied that they would, the im. subject were founded on an entirely false principle.— pression being universally entertained that such was ( Hear, hear.) He agreed with his Hon. Friend as to the the Right Honourable Gentleman's opinion. This beneficial effect of a free trade in banking, but that had was the reason why not many petitions bad been presented no relation to the present question. He would have the against the plan, seeing that nobody dreamt of it; in business of banking as free as air, and was glad that the deed merchants in Dublin were afraid to oppose it, feeling Chancellor of the Exchequer had proposed to remove that they were delivered over into the jaws of the Bank.— many of the restrictions under which it now laboured in but he (Mr. O'Connell) bad received hundreds of letters Ireland. But he did not think it would be right to re- conjuring him to do his duty in opposing this Bill move the restrictions upon what was in fact the creating —which, with the blessing of God, he would of money.--.( Hear, hear.) His Hon. Friend had denied The Chancellor of the Exchequer had kept the House, that his principles of free trade in banking would extend in his able speech, upwards of half an hour reading ' to the coining of money, But in fact many reasons miglat evidence. Now, he was not then relying upon the evi be given a priori why it would be safer to allow free dente of Mr. Callaghan ; certainly not. But then the trade in coining money than in issuing notes—( Hear)— Right Hon. Gentleman had adverted to Mr. Pym, upon for it was much easier to ascertain the goodness of a piece whom lie relied; why that Gentleman in the evidence be of gold, than the value of a bank note.—( Hear, hear, had given before the Committee, had completely put hear.) A ga i n , t h ere was more d i ff i cultly in the an end to all the arguments he had raised. The Chancel- , way of issuing sovereigns in excess, than notes.—( Hear.) for of the Exchequer had sneered at Mr. Callaghan for his He begged to apoligise for addressing the House at such folly, in not understanding banking, it was not his (Mr. length.—(Cheers.) He should support the motion of O'Connell's) procession, but he thought bias a much bet the Chancellor of the Exchequer, because he thought it' ter banker than the Chancellor of the Exchequer.— wise not to allow in Ireland a free competition in issuing ( Hear, hear.) This Bank of !relent(' was praised to the notes by all the' banks, without a check from some cen- skies, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer had put his ' tral, strong, controlling bank.--( Hear, hear.) Because whole case upon the fact of its gisieg Accommodation in also, he thought it wise that, as the Right Hon. Gentle- 1836. Who was it, he would ask, that brought man had urovided that the exclusive privileges of the about the run that had taken place in that Irish Bank should determine at the same period as those year ? Why, the Bank of Ireland !—( Hear, hear.) of the Bank of England, and thus afford to Parliament What course did it adopt to bring that about? Why, the opportunity of placing the whole currency of the the Bank of England was discounting at that period at 44 country on a safe foundation, if the wisdom of Parliament per cent., and the Bank of Ireland set about discounting should be enabled so to do,—( Cries of " Hear, bear, at 34• per cent. Was there a surer method of their gold hear.") He hoped that the time would then have being called for?—( Hear.) The merchants of Liverpool arrived when the public mind should have taken a more finding that they could get. their bills discounted in Dublin correct direction on this subject, ceasing to hold the idle at I per cent. less than they could in England, theories of national prosperity created by the. issuing of sent them to Dublin, and brought over the sovereigns paper, worthless in itself—(Hear, hear)--seeing that to this country. Such was the conduct of the men who were there was not one blade of grass that would be made to to rule the monetary system in Ireland.—(Hear, hear.) As grow, or one ship to go to sea, by the issuing of such another instance of the course they pursued, according to the evidence of Mr. Callaghan, on one occasion, goo d bills were people thernse ves—( Hear, hear)—and th a t th ou h the is- se notes, and not u p on th e i n d ustry an d i nte lli gence o f t h e sent to them from B e lfast, which had on ly a s h or t time to run, l suing ul, notes might p r odu ce a pp aren t strength at first, and what had they d.,ne ? They kept them for twenty-fours,and then refused to discount them. What was more cal were it must produce weak ness i n t h e en d.—( H ear , h ear. ) And increase the panic that th n existed ? and yet these were the he would venture to observe, th a t it was most d es i ra bl e t h at Members should pay careful attention to the nature men to whose tender mercies they were to consign the fate and of the subject, and no t b e swaye d by pr i vate i nterests ; m fo a rt u u y n a es t o iru f e th h e a r i o e ple re o g f r l e r tt eland.—(Hear, hear.) Many and ed the fatal union bet ween an e the d twe n o for himself he was utterly unconnected with any banking countries, but he had never felt its , weighttmorrneotsht melancholyhdi interests, and could not avoid observing that the agitation the present eveni,ig.—( Hear. ) lir s a t s i () i n t not a to be decided at so against the Government plan proceeded from bankers, or thing fir Ireland that this en vital d in g s u o t t ' h in a House ? The Chancellor parties interested. No one appeared to think of the pub- late a period of the . s . lie, or reflect how prices were forced up by the inordinate of the withstood Exchequer thel.a talkeda e d s p i n n ic,aandgreat haddeal o a f d t the eßank pamphlet o f .n Ireland that issue of paper. and afterwards depressed by the necessary h aving . subject full of sounding assertions—perhaps paid for out of the reaction.--( Hear, hear.) Ile should certainly oppose the monopoly j that he was now opposing.—(Hear, hear.) One proposition of his Hon. Friend the Member for Kilkenny. —( Loud cries of " Hear," from all sides of the Hause ) th paragraph in that pamphlet was, that in the year 1798, and r re-+i Mr. O'CONNELL said he was sorry so exc e ll en t a e rebellion, the Bank of Ireland sustained its credit mained unshaken. Why in that year the Bank of Ireland had a speech as that which had just been delivered should have done nothing but change one promise for another. of coin, but did been utterly inapplicable to the present question, for not meet any of their promises in a single sixpence ;larto in rio se there was no question about free banking ; the real theygade theirown promises, and nodouhltw did good was it not question raised by the Chancellor of the Exchequer was, to the end of time. Now, if r t o h b i! e m ct o i n n op t o h/ neighbourhood that hm s e t raaetnl manufacturers cut whether a particular bank in Ireland should be permitted most likely to effect d s e tach it ai t 7 If this monopoly had been bene the unlimited privilege of issuing notes in a certain district. immediately surrounded have He made Dublin prosperous ?—( II ear, hear. ) ' The Hon. Member said he would not allow any bank the fi l i l t a ia d l rintudsotuneotsoi so? D ur a e b rs lin in unlimited power of circulation. Yet he was going to vote for that power being given to one bank : that• was recollect the time when therene now.wer the w a sthe m anufactures m e o neltoa monetary y t the proposition of the Right Hon. the Chancellor of the what was the s tate W o h f at Dublin where there was not r o tv ofMr.He Henrycould, recollect the Grattan, the Exchequer, for which the Hon. Member would vote, but time when, two • n atthhe property - were twelve manufacturers,ferethat against which his speech, as far as it went, was directed.— Member for w a lle not one now. Dub in, therefore, o f this monopoly, was fast falling to ( Hear, hear.) The sante Hon. Member had made a and thei•e !Powerful speech, to prove that the liability of Joint-stock r bene fit it.. But this was not all ; he;had the returns of within and without the monopole ; of theot-offiee bankers should be limited to the amount of capital subs set ibed—(" Hear," from Mr. Clay)—and it was his opinion , r tdil e hea v eed e a (l ot u i: e utean h gd e ee, had three classes —the townsw i th i n the n Jo in t - still ; see what strange mistakes very sensible men might stock principle—the towns not within it, arid Dublin by itself. sometimes make !—(Hear, hear.) Instead of coming . to 0. Now, in those return s h e f oun d that Waterford, in Id3o, paial q uestion the particul ar quest i on b e f ore t h e H ouse, w hi c h 4,726/. to the Post- o ffi ce revenue. In 1836 it was 5, 100 1. was, whether i n I re l an d a certa i n set o f b an k ers , however Th at was 17 per cent. increase from 30 to 36. In Clonmel respectable, should have the entire control over the mak- lie found the increase was 19 per cent. In Belfast the increase ing of money within 50 miles round Dublin, whether ten was 25 per cent., or rather 2-14. In Cerk it was 26 per cent., counties in Ireland sh o uld b e placed under a particular bank,. and in Limerick it was 27 per cen t. With respect to the latter that is the question, and ought it not to be decided on the place he implored the House to recollect that th N e ex benefitt e m e grounds of common sense ?—( Hear, hear.) The Chan. itihestteam navigation had net yet reached Ne, Limerick.thre there was a cellor of the Exchequer had not treated Ireland fallacies in . owns within the monopoly,. Newry : d but the matter. He had made an .able speech, but decrease of 3, 1 per cent. In Carless he tour! an increase, it was but small, of :4 , per cent. In Dundalk. there was a de he had avanced so glaring, that it was only to be accounted for by the Right Hon. Gentleman's knowing m crease of 13 - per cent., and in Drogheda there was a decrease of beingthe monopoly,had the greatest decrease, dices in England would operate with. hi • The. preju. Rghe 15 .per cent., p s r othat Drogheda, with the benefit of steam na vigation, within thout Honoui able Gentleman had begun by stating that whilst Limerick, which was out of the monopoly, wi ti e . in Ireland, if there was a demand for gold, it benefit of steam navigation, had an increase of twe t n to must influence the exchanges, and gold must be found seven per cent,—( Hear, hear.) Now with ,re,,spe in England, and thus be tried to raise a suspicion in the Dublin, he found that there was a deficiency of no ; a s than 25 minds of English Members, by telling them that gold per cent.—(Hear, hear)—in the very focus of thiaemo t . P u . : . , must come from England to supply the deficiency could not benefits to other towns. ra in Ire. with all the security of the Bank of Ireland. He knew! at, ,, ,,l e et land. He (Mr. O'Connell) admitted it. But how did be said that Dublin scattered its _ n increased on exports s the Bank of Ireland prevent a run for gold on England? found that in Dublin the tonnage The Bank of Irelaad had no store of gold ; it must apply 36 per cent., dthe imports t had been said, to the and on on . ait 69 a x in necessity to the English Bank. Instead of being a be imputed, .notwiiths t t an a t n n a vigation. In his opinion,Dublin , ( b e " cent. ; that ference ems:one( by steam cheek upon a run for gold it was an additional drain all the towns in Ireland with upon the Bank of England. The question was, should the ought to be the steadiest of Th to the Post-office revenue. e attorneys regularly re ect monopoly . ot the Bank of Ireland be continued? And itfur their powers; there was as much litigation come there was surprising that the Hon. Member for the Tower Ham- as ever there was. Dublin had the monopoly of all agencies, lets, who had given such an excellent dissertation on poli- and yet in spite of all these advantages, in consequence of this tical economy, should never have touched upon the ques. sirrocco of monopoly', t o h f er. 2 e s was a deficiency h in the revenue of don 0? monopoly. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Post- ufUe from d a s sailed r. t M r. 'er Callaghan cent for the eChaneellor th o a t t th e e not content with the elap.trap to English Members i i.EXO I Nu" ba- didthink evidence • he as to varying the quantity of gold in this country, 1 had given. He not that he deserved it.—