The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1818-04-30 00:00:00

him with easkiog • not increase so the unfunded
debt in the mode of the lest three years. With'
teepee to that remark he Inuit obserye, that had
Outs: (the PrOpetty Tax) he rectienmended in the
first of them part been ageopil to 'by the Noose,
that charge could est N be Merin ve* his ;
but, en the re jeete of that phoebe the Hesse, he
was compelled to add to the tiolneded debt ' • for
he knew bet two way* of raisiits.moiey—either by
taxes, or borrowing I and foe many resume, he bed
preferred an intreeme of the noturided, rather this
of the fended debt. But let Oeptlemen see what
wit the attisal;operaties of the idea then taken up,
sad sow so much cavilled at. t was this, that if it
had Sided eighteen milli4ol.:to the unfunded debt,
it had minced the funded by tweet, mallow, a
sum etteirralent to forty millions in Exchequer
Bills. He had compared his plan et chat of a pri-
vate gentleman borrowing ten thousand • year to
pay ten thousand a year. But if that gentleman
could she., that at the end of three years he had
been iu that way enabled to pay off 60,000/. there
woald be little reason to call him inane. He
had occasion to explain before, . that by the
tipekation of the Bill now node the consider-.
atiori of the House, a great deal of floating
capital bald be taken out of the market.—
The resell of it at the end of the year would be,
that while nothing would he edited to the funded.
debt, it would have diminished the unfunded by a
sum of near fifteen million.. The Hon. Gentle-
man hod been rather unhappy in his former antici-
pations of his (Mr. Vansittartis) plans, and be
should not be discouraged by latch anticipations
from proceeding.
The. House having resolved into a eensmittee on
the Bill—on the clause being reed, allowing the
Bank a sum of 510•1. per 100/. or 000/. per million
on the three millions to be raised by cash sith-erip-
titers, and 10d. per 100/. or 400/. per million on the
27 Onllions to be raised by futidlug Exchequer
Bills, for charge of management--;
Mr. GRIINTELL said, he was *Volved to divide
the House on that clause. lii order to explain the
ground of his opposition, it would be necessary to
go into a history of the service for which this
enormous charge was required. lit fact, there was
nothing of service. It was simply this-a-the had
seen it himself for many years past)—the Bank re-
ceived from the subscribers to loans, the loans when
they were to be paid—when the interest on the stock
became due they paid it, taking a receipt from the
holder, and entering the payment Under the tame
of the person giving the receipt. When persons
found it convenient to anticipate the regolar time
of payment, the Bank calculated the discount to be
subducted, and paid the difference. This consti-
tuted the whole of their trouble, and for this they
were paid at the rate of 10d. per 100/. When
Gentlemen considered the vast profit accruing to
the Bauk for years peat, from usually holding from
nine to twelve millions of the public money in their
bands, the great rate at which they had been paid
for management, and that every loan created a per-
immune charge against the country, it was not too
much of there to expect that the charge should be
reduced, if sot altogether given up. The Cons
miner were not aware of the immeuse, sums re-
ceived
by the Bank from the country. He held in
his band an account, not of the amount of them
during the war, but for the last seventeen years—
and the Committee would be surprised when he '
stated from that' that the nutrient of this charge of
tod. per lent during that period was no less a
sum than 324,0001.-A-(Heer, Aeor, Aear.).-IHe
stated this in the presence of an Honourable
Friend opposite, • Batik Director, who might cor-
rect him if he was in error. The way in which
the clause was worded furnished an additional
reason against consenting to the charge of 8001.
per million. That set forth that the charge was
for clerk.. It was probable that the origin or it
was ; that at first the loans being small, this charge
of management was granted to the clerks for their
additional trouble, as a sort of bonus, something
like • Christmas-box to a clerk in a private
'concern • but that afterwards, :is the sum arising
thus became considerable, the Bank appropriated
it to themselves. He was borne out in this opi-
nion by the conclusion of the clause 6' That the
said charge shall be to the use of the Governor and
Company of the Bank of England." He had
wished the matter should be investigated by a
Committee of the House. He need not state that
iu two former Sessions he had endeavoured to bring
about an inquiry there. He had neglected it ibis
Session, on account of the oppointinent of the
Committee of Finance. tie had been of opioion
that they would examine every part of our ex-
pesditure, an opinion he had been justilicd in
forming by derlonitiosair made a considerable
time beck by Gentlemen in the Howie, that the
charges on which lie was animadverting would
come under the eye of that Committee—and
it was with surprise he had heard the other day
from authority that that course was at present in.
convenient. He (Mr. G.) had then given notice
that he would oppose this clause. It was out to he
supposed that the Bonk had suffered the profit of
324,000/. to go to the recount of their I kilts.—
Their profits ou the transaction now under discus-
sion, would, if the clause come to I 3,i00/.
He taremained,
almost forgot to add. that taus was the
first instance of any charge by the Bank for fund.
Mg Exchequer Bills ; and he could not divine the
reason of its being made now, unless it well lu sbew
their triumph over him. He would move, that the
entire clause be expunged.
The question having been put, 66 That the
clause stand part of the Bar—
The Cuancitr.oa of the EXCHEOULR thought
there could not be a more tit subject for the con-
sideration of the Finance Conn iiiii ee than the
charges made by the Bonk against the public. But
he certainly did say a few nights ago, that for the
present it would be more romvenirgit to defer that
consideration. There was no limn more anxious
than himself to have due inqiiiry mode nit°
the profits accruing to the Bank from manag-
ing the public business. 112werer, the charge ob.

tins Wm., Amami the Sic, I,
*of every mon to .is himiteir Meow it wide. He
Id thought it rigid to throw out these few re•
Meets, bemuse be saw the plan persisted in from
grid to year of going on liewrowing, and mein not
the least prospect of an escape from it, he felt
tiabowl to eater his protest egoism it.
the CUANCILLOR of the EiCIIIQUER said, that
the Hon. Gentlemen who hod sat down had taxed