The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-12-05 00:00:00

"

ITISi. PRESS!
stratrd. For if the credit of any particular Bank became

eazperted, being liable to pay in cash, cash would instantly
be demanded ; and either the demand mast be complied
with or the Beak must stop payment. The moment any
practical difficult!, was felt in procuring cash for the notes
of any country Bank—at whatever dis:ance from London
that Bank might lie—its credit would be gone. It cannot
therefore be true diet the irsaeuf one-pound notes has Gent-
sioned any such difficulty as the Times has here stated.
Aegis the reason assigned for the readiness with which
country-bank paper is everywhere received, it is enough to
say, that it is on a par with the rest of its statements.

" The habit of accepting country bank-notes has been
pretty general throughout England.; as much, perhaps, be-
cause few neighbours of a country banker would like to in-
cur his resentment, and so exclude themselves from his
occasional courtesies in the way of business, u for any
other reason."

If any country banker should manifest any symptoms of
inso/vency, however slight, we suspect he would receive
very little courtesy from the holders cf his notes, on the
*core of any displeasure they might chance to incur in de-
manding payment of them. It is unworthy of any public
journalist to throw out such invidious and random asser-
tions when writing on a subject of such grave importance.
It is quite obvious that the ready circulation of the notes
of country bankers bring " pretty general throughout Eng-
land," is owing to no other wise than the confidence enter-
tained of their stability, and that colfiderce can only have
arisen from the regularity with which their notes have been
exchanged for cash v ::en required, and from the evidence
thus furnished of the solidity-of the funds appropriated to
the payment of them.
We are next told that If the Government was unwise
in passing the Small Note Bill, the Bank of England was
equally indiscreet, and a great deal less disinterested, in its
motives for prolonging the extended scale of discount after
the course of the foreign exchanges ought to have warned
the Directors that they had already passed the limits of
commercial discretion. 'That the evil would, after a certain
season, return upon the Bank Itself, was manifest; but the
thirst of immediate profit was an overmatch, as it is too
frequently, for the calcutationa of common sense, and the
Directors are now reaping the fruits of their indulgence of
a short-sighted cupidity."
This writer has manifestly no very distinct conception
of his own meaning. The policy of the Legislature
in passing the Small Note Bill has no connection with
the principle, whatever it might be, that governed the
Bank discounts ; no inference drawn from the one can
therefore be applied to the other. To accuse the Directors
• of •' prolonging the extended scale of discount" from in-
terested motives, is to use terms not merely ambiguous,
but =intelligible. We will assume it to mean that the
-Bank issued in the way of discount a much greater quan-
tity of notes titan it ought to have done, and that in doing
-this it was governed by interested motives. Now we would
-ask this writer how he can reconcile this assertion with
what immediately 'Mims it, when he says, " that the
Mil -would. after/I:mous season, return upon the Bank
itself, was manifest?" These assertions negative each
other. Every one at all acquainted with the theory of
paper circulation knows well, that if there is an over-issue
of paper, the excess will return to be eAchunged for gold.
To charge the Bank Directs with increasing their dis-
counts to excess from interested motives, while the evil of
se doing was manifest, is an inconsistency so glaring, that
we may well dismiss it withoutfluther comment.
What follows is in that style of vulgar scurrility which
the Times is so apt to employ as the circulating medium of
its opinions :
`As fur relief from the Krecs's Government, we can
tell the speculating people, and their great foster-
mother in Threadneedle-street, that they will meet
with nene—ne, roil a particle—of the species of relief
which they look for. The KING'S Ministers know very
well the causes of the evil, and the extent of it, and its na-
tural and appropriate remedy; and we may venture to fore-
warn the men of paper, that no such help as they are seek-
ing will be contributed by the State. An inundation of
Bank-notes has aimed at overflowing the real capital of the
kingdom. Lord Ltvenrooe, thercfre, will think a long
time before he does any thing to countenance that original
mischief, under pretence of curing it. Hs will not throw
more Government paper on the market. He will not coun-
tenance the Bank in an attempt to keep afloat the paper
with which society is now infested, by any protective mea-
sure there will not he, we can vouch for it, another Bank
Restriction Act, for which some persons closely connected
with the Stock Exchange are beginning, we perceive, to
clamour ; the worst of our sufferiags, in what regards a
forced circulation, and famine pri'cs, take their date frets
1797. The evils that new ixset us, of inordinate specu-
lation bringing after it-inevitable ruin, might, without
much difiicelly, be traced to the same point of time. Yet
a repetition of the -same dreadful measure would now, by
some knaves, no doubt, he called a liberal' policy, on the
part of his Mests-v's Ministers."

The parties to whom this ill-considered language is ap-
plied may very safely disregard it ; such forbearance can
be no imputation on their courage; but when tills sapient
Journalist talks of—en :NUNDATTON of Bank-notes aiming
to omerion. 5031 capital,—we think they are fairly en-
titled to call for an caplunat;on.

CITY, SATURDAY EVRYINO.

The Comm% Market was not po buoyant to-day as yes-
terday, which may he accounted for in rome degree' by
the cire;:mstance that very Lute:lnkiness was doing, and.
o by the report that two more West Country Banks had
sunpend:d payments. Consols at the commencement of
v:cre S for the Account; they subsequently de-
clined to 1, and left off at it,
Excllrqu,r Bills were Gs. discount, and India Bonds at
par._

The transactions in Foreign Securities were not nu-
merous, and the quotations were affected by the depression
in the English Funds. -Colombian Bonds were 641} ;
Mexican Six per Cents, 116/1; Guatemala Scrip, 11, 10,
dia.; Brazilian ditto 11, 10 dim; Spanish Bonds 151;
Greek ditto 194 19; Danish ditto, 61 62. The money
market is very much improved, and loans were easily ob-
tained this morning on-the Stock Exchanges at three per
cent., and eves upon these terms tliere were more lenders
than borrowers. The establishments to which we refer in
the Wtat of England, as having suspended their pay.
ments, are a bank at Ashburton and another at Totness.
In other times the fact would scarcely hare been known
beyond the immediate precincts of them small towns, Br
the !liminess of a banks in either of them must be upon a
very limited scale; but such is the feverish state of the
Stock Markets at present, that every mole-hill is magnified
Into is mon»tain. In short, they are in the condition of a
convalescent who has been suffering under a severe malady.
upon whos^ frame the must trifling circumstance of an
untoward nature hos an unfasourable effect.

the leading Snick of Saturday, for
" compotitien to Capitalists, read —c•mr putition uf Ca-
pi la'ists.

rs.