The Press.
London, England, 1857-02-07 00:00:00

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LONDON, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1857.

honourably and zealously, and, to a great extent, so
successfully, for many years devoted their attention
to this subject. I may venture to express a hope
that, among the many difficulties which obviously
stand in the way of any great improvement of our
system of law, no impediment will be found in any
difference of opinion between the high legal authori-
ties in this and the other House of Parliament. I
observed, my lords, with some surprise—and I think
it is another indication of the discretion of the noble
earl who moved the Address—that, although he
carefully but briefly noticed every other topic of the
Speech from the Throne, he was altogether and dis-
creetly silent with regard to the renewal of the Bank
charter. I hope that lam justly attributing to the
noble earl's discretion his silence upon that impor-
tant topic. I can imagine the noble lord at the head
of her Majesty's Government, when instructing the
noble. earl as to the points upon which it was de-
sirable that he should dwell, informing him that the
less he said with reference to the Bank charter. and
the more careful he was not to commit her Majesty's
Government on that subject, the better satisfied they
would be. Not doubting the discretion of the noble
earl, I think, however, I may assume that, like
Hotspur's wife, he abstained from stating the precise
course which the Government intend to pursue on
this important subject, because " he could not utter
what be did not know." ( Laughter.) In one of the
paragraphs of the Royal Speech her Majesty recom-
mends to our consideration, first, "the expediency
of renewing for a further period the privileges of the
Bank of England;" next, that we should consider
" the conditions imposed on the issue of bank-notes
in the United Kingdom ;" and, thirdly, that we
should consider " the state of the law relating to joint-
stock banks." I trust her Majesty's Government have
made up their minds as to the course which they
intend to recommend to Parliament,—that they are
not going again to launch this great and important
question into the abyss of select committees, or to
invite a deluge cf pamphlets and correspondence
from the pen of " Mercator" and his contempo-
raries—(a laugh)—but I do trust that, acting upon
the best judgment they can form, they will, upon
their own responsibility as a Government, submit to
Parliament such a measure, whether in adherence
to or in alteration of the existing law, as they may
deem expedient, and that the question may be
settled by Parliament upon a plan deliberately sub-
mitted as the result of the careful consideration of
the Government of the day. 'Hear, hear.)
I believe I have now adverted to the only mea-
sures of domestic policy which are indicated by the
Government in the Speech from the Throne; but
there is in that Speech one paragraph which may
undoubtedly lead to very important consequences,
although it is not addressed to your lordships, but
more immediately to the other House of Parliament,
and relates to a subject to which perhaps it is
scarcely proper for me to advert in this place. But,
my lords, looking to the gravity and importance of
that subject, I cannot withhold the expression of my
conviction that I have greatly misunderstoo I both
what appears to me the duty, and what I think will
prove to be the inclination, of the House of Com-
mons, if the vague and meagre reference to the esti-
mates in the stereotyped terms that " they have been
prepared with every attention to economy, and with
a due regard to the efficient performance of the
public service at home and abroad," will sufficiently
satisfy that house, which is, as it ought to be, the
guardian of the public purse. We are now at a very
critical period, and the financial statement which
may be made this year must involve in its considera-
tion, in its discussion, and in its consequences, not
merely the provision for a single year, but it must
be the well-considered and matured plan of finance
upon which the country is hereafter to rely. In
1853 a very comprehensive and able budget was sub-
mitted to Parliament ; and, although I cannot