The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1819-01-29 00:00:00

shriller executing their office is peesea tr by Jclto!Y." any Nltrulter on the Mort, lie should beg leive.
Ordered. without enterinc into the general discussion of the
TOW :P.M' OF BgilL Whits. qoestion. to otter some remarks ou what had fallen 1
Sir .1. MACKINTOSH fAIII4III biol wished to take from the thee Gentleman. The Commissioners
tlw earliest opportunity of offeriug o few übserrs- had considered it to be their (lily to examine all
tions on the important Report which had been, a the 'mire's at any time sent in. with the experi-
few night* since, laid on the table--the Report ofl ments mule un them, said to state the 'milt iii
their Report. What that result was, was another
the Commissioner* appointed to isquire into the
most effectual menus of preventing the forgery of quern • . The Hon. Gentleman seemed to have
Bank notes. Ile had entered the Reuse the day a little toiscoweieed what was the object
of the
lwfore with the intention of tekisee up the subject, Report. The Commissioners had eepected that
but he postpimed it. observing that the Member their Report would divplease many. Mae) hap.-
tor Exeter (Mr. Courteous'', Chaarillara of theacein. Minus persons must naturally have been dimplitniii-
cid missios) was not in his place, that that llotiourible that their plans did lint obtain the appiultio-
Gentleman might have an importunity of hearing lion of the seven Commissioners ; but the latter did
not wish to conceal the number of failures from the end answering, if he thought proper, the reworks
lie was about to offer on the Report.in winch he had public, lest, by possibility, hopes might hr euter-
honor so large a share. The ihquiry had originated milted of the iesults too sanguine to be realised—.
in a measure of lois. last Sessinie adopted, cm tautly, and they 'resolved, before bringing in the Report.
not with the vain soul integioarY hope of rendering which in a short time they expected to be en-
the
imitation of Batik notes a thieg impossible. aided to do, to lay before Parliament an ac-
but a thing of greatly increased difficulty ; and count fife what they had done already. Here be
which. lie "Ped. he was lint too ennfidelat iii he- might he permitted to observe, that much injury
lieving, would infallibly lead to one 11( two edema- had been done, by the propagstion of stotemesit",
Cages—either that means would be devised fur the in wine,' it was asserted, that. if the Directors
construction of Bank notes of extreme difficulty in of Use Batik hail pleased, they might have resorted
imitation, soul it consequent protection of the public to measures which would, in a great degree, have
from the rapid increase of fermi' mod crime, or a prevented the forgery of Batik notes. This asset-
demonstration or the impracticability of such a
lion was unfounded—and, he believed. DO 604 of
PI". the HecevvalY of getting rid of the piper men in the country were more ominous than the
system, with its present multiplied evils. and Directors of the Bank were. to remedy the „di es
of returning to payments in cash by the far as lay in their power. The plane submitted to
Bank of Engles's'. Though he had from the be- the Directors. in many instances. displayed great iii.
gii 00000 lg. apprehended that the latter would be the r tv, but none of them. lie thought. could be es.
conclusion iirtived at in pursuing the inquiry he sentially useful to the public. Amongst those sped.
had tweet had the confidence to suppose that his mens that were laid before die Commissioners, there
own views of the case would be so rentarkiffil, cots- were several, which they thought deserved to be
firmed, avid receive the strongest 141OCO011 OOHS the distinguished from the general mass sent to them
Report on the table.—(Hear, hew.) —lle had ear- for inspection. The Learned Geoalemen was cos-
ear expected that a Board, constituted with the ex. reef in saving. that only seise of the whole 'loather
pits' view of devising every possible improvement were such, ay. in the opinion of the Commissioners,
in the forma • of Bank lintel (and of a Board like and with a view to the object of their inquiry. de-
that, compelled of scientific men—(Hears/--slid served particular totemic'''. Notwithetseding this,
of others whom he knew to he most respectable. be the degree of talent which the itoptiry had elicited,
never wished to speak hut in terms of respect), was very great indeed. Performunces, exhibiting
should have established, as the result of their hi. the greatest possible excellence of workmanship,
hours, a demonstration of the facility with which had been executed in this coulitry, soil had also
the best finished note. most approaching to perfec- been sent from abroad, particularly from the
time could be imitated, and the depravity and Mi' (tinted States of America. It was sinfortunitte
eery that most therefore ever result from • paper (and lie mentioned this particularly, because, in
system of currency, and the further suspension of the minds of gentlemen, certein specimens had
cash payments. He thought the Report was a de- greater weight than others) that many efforts, how.
miniveration of the necessity ,if rentruuelog such a ever ingenious they might appear, slid not. on ex-
system to all who valued the credit, the morality, and amnions:on, seem calculated to produce the effect
the lives of the people above may other object.— desired. Some Gentlemen imagined that one par.
/Hear. hear. )--Ile should then proceed to a ticiller specimen, others that a plan of a differeut
few remarks on the matter of the Report. The description, would, if properly attended to, pro-
substance of it, if lie understood it, was. that duce the end which the Commissioners were seek-
about two hundred projects bail been laid before t ing. He could only say, that oil which were sub.
the Bank and the Commissioners together; that I mated to their comederetiou, had been sertipoilimslv
ell of those laid before the Bank hail been by tloot examined, and that the most anxious desire filled
body rejected, lin the opinion of the Commis- the mind. of the Commissioners to fulfil the
stoners properly rejected ; that of all the rest sub- purpose for which they were embodied. One
mitted to the C . : vs themselves. Moe nasty great fallacy. as it appeared to him, pervaded
were held deserving of their serious consideration a great trimly of the plans presented to the Corn.
and exarniiiatioe, though twelve more were praised meal:ewers lin their approbation. It was this--
on recount of the ingenuity displayed in their iii• that several of the applicants made use of a vast
venti 0000 ; and of these nine, but one recommended deal of machinery, to produce a particular effect.
by the Commissioners as worthy of experiment ; for which, they imagisied, could not he perfected, with.
though it was not said expressly that the other right out the laid of the same machinery. Many Gentle.
were rejected, yet. if lie understood the language meta presented a detailed account of the machinery
used, they were deemed not to be above imitation. by which their notes were Formed, which, perlimps,
It followed then. that, in the opinion of the Com.' satisfied the Commissioners, that the effect could
missionere,of all the inventions laid before the Bank, not be so well produced. taw with so much feci.
during a space of twenty years, not one was likely pity. as by the means resorted to by those artists.
to itin ti oo 'oh in a great degree the danger of forgery. But, in almost every instance, the applicants lied
and of all those laid before themselves, hut one. forgotten, that imitative notes might be produced,
And in describing the effect's which might possibly though not So well executed. nor in in short a time,
follow from the trial of that one. the Commissooners yet correct enough to deceive the public, by means
had spoken with the newt nice and rfUIIUIO4II, can- widely different. Tile Commissioners often found
lion. Ile praised them for doing so; it was worthy that souse moot ingenious men did not attend to
of their character, end creditable and honourable that particular. Notee. in sanitation of theirs,
to them ; but, lie would repeat it, '. had adopt- might, however. be made, not indeed of such ex-
- - - * the '

they tutu
ed every lotus of caution that English language
could shard. The terms of the Report, in gesierul,
were most guardrd, as if the Commissioners were
fearful of exciting hopes which ill one passage they
seemed to have given room for. The Honourable
Member then alluded to, mud quoted the terms of
the Report respecting the project under trial. He
contended that the carelessness of the public, as an
°listable to the prevention of forgeries, was no stew
discovery, and which could not but be expected to
exist under any form of note. To state that cir-
cumstance (lie continued) W 4 a direct obstacle to the
supprespiois of f_irgery, WO almost elating the impos-
sibility of the latter. That very circumstance was
oue of the causes of the invention of money. The
two last sentences of the Report in particular seem-
ed torlaiiip all the expectations, and extinguish all
the hopes raised by the former part. It was useless
to press these considerations further, but he could
riot see how ally Member of Pailiauseut could con.
seta to a continuauce of the paper system, and to
commit the lives of the people to the hopes of en
expected improvement front one new project, es-
pecially after the failure of so many former ones.
11.. could not, therefore, but conclude thit the
result of the inquiries of the Commission amounted
almost to nothing. It skewed one thing, that there
was but one triode of .soppreining forgeries—and
the question would henceforth be, whether for sup.
posed advantages in trade and commerce, they
should hazard the principles, the morals, and life
of the subject. It was for the Chancellor of the
Exchequer to put these in opposite scales, and
observe their operation and value.—( Hear, hear.)
1816, the Chancellor of the Exchequer pre.
veiled on the House to continue the Rank Restri,!.
hose Act, the result of which was fifty capital
executions, fur the crime of forgery, in three years.
The question at present was, whether that House of
COII4IIIOIIII should follow the guides which misled
their predecessors, and whether they should meat
to keeping up the restrictions on cash payments,
without a demonstration of the expediency and Ile.
ce-sity of the mealier% and of the advantages in its
train, which would compensate for the eras it had
unquestionably, and would continue to genenste.
The Lesreied Member then moved for...
" A return of the together penitent preereisSe4 by the
Bank of &llama Sow %grin Bonk Wes, god fur Strifes le
poseerrioto ett forted Bask warm, Cruet leth April, 11111, A
27th Jeggery, lade—disSingsishger the eisseber egewiegrd
fur rack oftener, and theme egisvieted of MO*, its their pus.
engem forged Doles, perm-nag to he $l. leek seers sod
apwsrt., sod olistinguirbitie Ow capita) presesettges free
these at sn Warier nature ^--Ordered.
Mr. CeVRIENAT said, that though it wee II
looter of batiefactiuti to him to hear the opisies of

.. _
celletd workmitiship. nor with the same quickness
but still with sufficient facility to answer the put •
pose of the forgers. The Learned Gentleman
thought that the Commissioners had used language
which seemed to imply that they despaired of
effecting the object of their investigation. In their
anxiety. not to raise the hopes of the public he-
youd their proper limits, it was possible they might
have adopted expressions which intimated des, -
dency on the subject. But certainly, though this
might have bents the case, despair was not their
feeling. The six Gentlemen who were joined with
him in the Commission, expected. front the expe-
riment mentioned at the end of the Report. the
most beneficial result.—(Hear, hear, lies r.)—
They hoped that a cute would be produced, which it
would be almost impossible to imitate, so as to de-
ceive the public.— (I lear , hear.)—To rely on any
secret process, which only the person devising it
could lie acquainted with, was impossible—tor.
whit the att of min produced, the art of matt could
imitate. The point the Commissioners had there-
fore to consider was, the various degrees of diffi-
culty. It would he improper, at the present mo-
ment, to state, that they did not think well of those ,
plans which they had set apart. It was only neces-
sary fur hint to speak of that which it had been
thought, in the first instance, expedient to try.
They had made experitneuts on one only, and on
that they rested with a confident hope that it would
answer their expectations. They felt, however, that
the plan which they had selected was susceptible of
improvements, which indeed appeared to be the
case even with the best and most prontisiog
,plans
that had been brought under their notice. ['hose
improvements were now in progress—aud he had
the 'satisfaction of Plating, that, since the date of the
Report, the probability of a litAly beneficial result
had increased. The opinion of the seven Cornwell..
slimier. which they embodied in their Report, was
this, that the ides that • note could be produced. so
hood to imitate, that a counterfeit must necessarily,
and on the mometit. be detected, was not well-
founded—but still, that they believed the plait they
had laid hold of, if adopted, would render the crime
of forgery intluitely more difficult than at present.
This was a fair and hottest statement of the opinion
of the CommoNioorre. What further improvement.
they might make, he would not now seldom to en..
ticipate, because he did taut wish to raise the hopes
of the coeutry too high—at the same lime, he could
assure the Hooey that the Coitintissiuners did tint
despair of a successful terinination of their labours.
—( Neer. Mir./
Mr. Taassr—gd According to the statement of
. Om Learned Gentleman. the retail of the itlvestirt-