The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1818-04-10 00:00:00

TAXATION -CAPP. BRETON.

Mr. BEN tarrr understood tbat;cOnsiderable
correspondence had taken place between his Ma-
jesty's Government and certain Local Authorities
of Cape Breton, respecting the right of certain
persons in that country to he exempted from taxa-
tion. He wished to ask, whether it was the inten-
tion of Administration to hriog the correspondence
under the knowledge of the !louse ?

Mr. LUSPIDtGTON could only N:ly that .ome time
since a certain Court there did take upon it to
grant some exemptions. Meavures had been taken
at home, and %ere now in progress, to examine the
validity of their ileeree—but the affair was in each
• state that it could not be submitted to the [louse
at present.
Mr. BENNETT, as we understood him, said he
would take an oppnctiiiiity some clay next week to
bring the business owlet the view of the Ilouse.
After some rettiirlo loin Mr. Hi..rtsux, the
second reading of the Mock Auction Bill was de-
ferred till Tuesday.
The Privately Stealing (Ireland) Bill pawed
through a Cominitt,-e, and the Itcrort ordered to be
received to-morrow.

RESTRICTION OF CASII PAYMENTS-PRIVATE

BANKi.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER rose to
introduce his siteu.are for the contionance of the
Bank of England Restriction, and regulations fog
the security of ►he public as to private bank notes.
lir had postponed the consideration of the quest.
to as late a paned as possible, becalm he hail

hoped it might perhaps in the entiase of tier Session
hr sheerte, that the Bank inlaid, without wilily to
the country, he allowed to resume ita sorb pay-
ments set the eitoirat:On of the present Maar:won
Act ; bat. however giro Ins regret might bet he
felt himself bon nd to asthma it to tier noose, that
under present circtematancei It we;. nut couststent
with the preaperity of the eotititry to permit such
restimptioit. The system of prolithititeg rhsls
mem, Hank took sets rose at the lieginniug of
Ihr war. 1 tie 111.-strictton would hare ettpired ice
tsl6, hot aas thaei ctitainued by Art sir Pailiament
her twit Ceara loose, with sets tid.eleistattihng that
all preparatemis were to he eti ide fur rensova.g it at
the rod of that treriod. The course of exchange
at present. anti the high price of gold, rendered it
highly tenpolitic to permit a return to earls pas--
mods. Ti:.. Hoare Woad recollect, *hat previous
an NE Aid tal:3, and dewing let ?, gold trail et tle
egbrtnoto ;Hive of 5/. IN. per os.. used oh sifters its
dollars, at 6.. 611. per oz. Drone tlflfe %%hell the
French armies leepsie to he repulsed flout (Icrtneeny
the value decreased, and it, 1814, abets the Allies
first took possession of Paris, that of gold had
fallen to sf. per nz. Then there was every appene=
once of a continue:wee lie the fall, and a lets hope of
resumption if the ptace wont(' last. That hope
wits overthrown by the retinal of Bonaparte, lend of
hostilities—from that erred gold, which had got
down to 4/. Gs. 6d., rose quickly to 5/. 74. It was
therefore !teen that good policy reqdtired a continu-
ance of the Restriction. In 1816, when peace had
been a second time restored, it was funnel that any
measures to prevent the exportatinti of the precious
metals would have beeti as unavailing as during the
war ; the Restriction lead been in consequence re-
vived, with a deliberate resolietitin that in the course
of two years cash paymeists should be resumed.
After that time the Bank had been seriously and
• vigorously employed its preparations for that event.
lie January, 1817, they had besides mode an ea..
'tethered to see how far desirous the publiii were td
convert their notes into specie—by odvertisisig that
they were ready tb pay their notes of et certain de=
scription its cad,. The event slier eel laity little
inch a desire operated.-many circumstances oc-
curred thee, and since to sliest that the pill:air: felt
little anxious to recur to a metallic curtettcy: On
the exchange of the new for the old silver toiesige A
large quantity of the former had been !,'etit to Scot-
land; and of this 7,0001. remained in the Batik
there over and above the sun then wanted for the
country. The Mink wished to retain it; as it sleight
be a convenience to the country, and proposed to
remit gold in lieu of it. The suece,s of the fist
experiment induced the trial of another. in
O'tober last notice hail bents issued that the Batik
was ready to pay ell notes in specie issued previous
to 1817. finder that regulation, indeed!, a shape++
sition did appear to olitnin gold in excleutige for
notes, insomuch that 4,600,000/. had !teen paid its
specie by the Batik, and it was notorious that at
this moment scarcely any of that large slim remains
ed in circulation. He ildw felt it his duty to cull
the atte,etiou of the Flonae to the circumstanced
shut brought about the present state of thieve,
state which rendered a return to cash traytnents
precarious and hazardous in the extreme. The
brit of these was a deficient harvest its 1816, and
that of last year not being better than ordinary,
causing a great importation of corn, mid vaporise-
lion of specie. The second was the great number
of absentees drawing much of the wraith of the
country to be expended in other countries. Ile Wag
not aware of any mode by which the expenses of
such persons could be estimated. Bea he held its
his hand a list of Englishmen who lead sailed from
Dover since February, 1814, up to this date. These
amounted to 90,000, exclusive of 11,000 aleetes.
Out of these, 77,530 had returned ; and although
many persons might be many times included rte thee
sante account —( /ear) —still this forteithed a sort
of approximation to the actual witollrr trim hoer re..
monied. The difference might be taken set 12,000.
It was impossible to have au average of the expenses
of three elaienters—but their annual expense. might
he moderately stated In the gross at two millions
and a half. A third cause was the expense coccus
s4need by the residence of our army abroad. The
causes to which lee had already alluded were such
as might he expected to occur from time to hate ;
but there remained another of a most extraordinary
stature. Ile alluded to the transactions of the two
last years in negotiations of large loirsts by Foreign
Powers with the subjects of our own and odor
States.—[flare the Right Hon. Gentleman entered
into a particular stateineeit of the loans cont raciest
by the French Government.] —The Mat tem:likable
full in the exchange took !dace in play and
June, 1816, and the depression continued since...,
and from the same time there wits a great rise in the
price of gold. He was very far from wishing to reflect
on the gentlemen concerned in the transactions....
and he felt persuaded, that if they thoualit the
loans would he injurious to their own country they
would be the last to engage in them. He lead hired
consulted, but did not give any oppositioti. The
probable advantages were great its keeping up the
credit of the French Government, and enabling
them to discharge the engagements they had entered
into. However, the event of the negoci.tions was
such us he hail described ; they had produced the
exportation out of the gauntry of two inilhotis utiet
a half of specie. lee this year France lead already
contracted a loan of sixteen millions of franc.
—but she might he compelird tie eolal ge it
to a vast extent before the conclurion
In thee event of the allied forces withdrawing from
her territories this sear, she would be oldiged to
make good her pecuniary engagements to the other
drPuwen
aiit within the year,
m them.ot twenty l
ie
e f
scni oil rlai olittialsiteewh i t Pu'e
tin eect-
sed by
aosfe ti;eissgsse:
it seas
obviously impolitic to recur to a metallic curseney.
The danger came from ahrond ; in the internal situ-
ation or transactions of tier country litere ti,lc twist.
He called upon the House to consoler, whether the
danger certainly resulting did not snore thole coun-
terbalance any teosponery inctriveuience its a pates