The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1822-04-30 00:00:00

ted to the Hattie is a few nights by the CHAN;
timi.on of the EXCHTQUER, mud until then it

might appear premature to offer an optiiii.n re;
specting it t but we etlnitOt avoid drying, that the
propoirition of farming out any part of the Govern-
ment eipeoditure its food for the speculation of pri-
vate iiidiriduals. seem. prima:facie to be wholly to-
consiitent with the dignity of the Government, mid
to be no less oppoised to the interests of the couritty.
The estobliihment of country banks ()poi an
extended scale must have an irifluence 'Ton
proposition of reducing the rite of discounting
by the Bank of Englund from five per cent. to f
per cent. When the plan of transferring the Nsvr
Five per Cents. into the mew four per tent. rice k
was first in Pirliatitent, Ons of the ad-
vantages which it was then hoped would he derived.
from it was a reduction in the rate of interest, and
complaints have since her, freely. but in our opinion
very unjustly, made against the Bank of England,
for not having instantly adopted the suggestion of
the Ministers. A measure of thit nature was not to
be adopted soddenly or rashly, and the flank act,,l
rightly in hot rushing to embrace a project arch
Mar avowedly to alter the artificial value of money
generally throughout the kingdom. We ere well
assured that when the Bank hesitated to tits-
count bills ut four per cent. they were less in-
fluenced by a consideration of the lose or gain of
one per cent. on their discounts, than by that of
the general impression which much a reduction war
in their Minds calculated to produce upon the
prices of Government stock, and upon the state of
the foreign exchanges. For our own parts, we do
not concur in their reasonings upon these matters.
The Directors were apprehensive that if they fr-
cilitated the raising of money at a rate loner than
the legal rate of interest, thry should only promote
stock jobbing in our own funds, or encourage large
remittanres to other countries for the purpose of
jobbing there; but the Directors must feel that, by
the knowledge they may be presumed to hive of
the parties for whom they discount, they may anti.
hold, as they du at present, supplies front persons
who would be disclosed to speculate improperly,
and by the control which they muirliossess over
their issues generally, they would he enabled to
p►evenl them from being so extensive as to be ca-
pable of seriously effecting the rates of foreign ex-
changes.
The starving condition of the peasantry in the
south of Ireland was made known to the House by
Sir EDWARD O'Botsm, oho claimed for them the
symptithy and assistance of the Government. The
Earl of DARNLEY, in the House of Lords, was
equally prompt itt recommending this important
matter to the serious attention of the Mintate►i
The urgency of the distress was acknowledged in
both Houses, but the Members of the. Government
hare resolved nut to exert themselves in any way
to supply the trouts of the people by the pro.
curing of provisions. The markets mast be lel;
without the interference of Government to the vs.
neral principle of .self-regulation ; but the plan of
relief adopted in 1816 is to be pursued, and the
sum of one million is to be applied by the Irish
Government in the way of loans to encourage the
indostry of the people, and thereby supply their
necessities.

We apprised our readers some days since that a
memorial had been presented to the Privy Council
by several merchants of the highest respectability
in the city of London, urging the expediency of
admitting ships belooging to the Republics of
Columbia. Buenos Ayrcr, Chili, and the other
Independent Governments in South America, to
ent►y in nor ports. The memorial was prepared
at a meeting of merchants which was convened ex.
pressly for this purpose.
The representation captained in this memorial, we
rejoice to say, has been successful. The Lords of
the Privy Courted have caused an intimation to be
wide to the several sneredritile houses which lad
signed the memorial, that they " have decided it-
yostrably on the application for admitting to entry
in this country the ships of the Independent
vention, established iu the Spanish part of*Sootb
America, conformable to the petition presented to
_their .Leedshies en the 23d inst."
• To the COMUICIriiti 00110:11116 of the country this
measure of the Privy Council promises tl:e inset
serious advantages. It evinces s disposition on the
part of our Government to encourage and promote
the trade of this enqure tit a portion of the world
wbere British euterprise aed British ingeunity may
most reasonably hone to be highly appreciated and
nobly rewarded. We frel the wood policy sad
discretion of the measure at this moment perhaps
more keenly, from the apprehensions which we, in
common with many others, began to entertain. that
we were about to be exyhided from the markets
of South America in consequence of the measures
which are now iu the act of being pursued by the
Northern Union. We feared that our Government
might hesitate, without the concurrence of SON
to recognise iu ■ny way the independent existence
of the Situth American Republics, and that the
United States, raising impost this backwardnesa of
other Powers • peculiar claim of merit with the
infant Governments, might he thereby enahted to
subject others to serious disabilities in the South
American markets. It moat, indeed, he felt that
the measures of the 'Joked States have left uo d
cretins to the other reacts upon this point. Tite

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