The Sun.
London, England, 1838-05-19 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY, MAY 19, 1888.

thought there was no Gentleman in the House who would state that •
money could not be .easily raised on them at the rate of lid. per cent
per day interest, He (Sir J. Reid), for one, could say that he believed
it to be totally impossible for any man to raise money to any extent at
that rate. The bankers had been most unjustly attacked; they were
a body of men who did all that they could to promote the best interests
of the community, but in spite of all their exertions they were ma-
ligned, and all they had to do, therefore, was to bear the attacks made
on them as best they might.
Mr. EASTHOPE was greatly surprised at hearing the statement
made by the Honourable Baronet the Governor of the Bank of England
as to the present rate of interest on Exchequer Bills. He himself ac-
cidentally knew of a large concern, which having had occasion to bor-
row money on Exchequer bills had done so at the rate of two per cent.
(Hear, hear.) Entertaining the objections he did to the present rate of
interest on Exchequer bills, he had watched with very considerable curl-
osity--indeed, he might call it anxiety—to discover, if possible, on what
grounds the Right Honourable the Chancellor of the Eechequer could
justify the present rate of interest on Exchequer bills, in reference to
its alleged effect on the extent of speculations; but he had derived no
factory information whatever on the subject from any part of the
Right Honourable Gentleman's speech.—(Hear, (rear.) How therete of
in'eres ton Eecheqtter bills could have any sort of cennection with the
protection oC the public from excessive speculations continued as much
a matter of surprise to him (Mr. Easthope) as ever. He greatly wished
that the Right Hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer had directed his
o'lsek rations morel to the interesting speech of the Right Honourable
Gentleman the Member for the University of Cambridge, a speech for
which he (Mr. Easthope) begged to say, he most cordially thanked that
Right lion. Gentleman, leoking upon it as he did as one of the most in.
strisetive and practical speeches he had ever heard—a speech meriting
the attention of Members of the House, and one the merits of which
would be highly appreciated Out of doors —(Hear, hear.) There was
one point on which, of all others, he had expected the Right Honourable
Gentleman near him would have dwelt, namely, the present alarming
amount of the unfunded debt. If the Right Honourable Gentleu.an
was correct in now refusing t,reduce the rate of interest on Exchequer
bilis, lest this should induce an increase of dangerous speculator), this
must be an argument for lessening the amount of the unfunded debt;
but for his (Mr. Eastliope'e;' pert, he could not understand any eon.
neetion between the rate of Exe!iequer bid interest and the pro-
tection of the public from excessive epeTtlii&oll• The Honour-
able Member for Coventry had stated that a person to po,iliings, sscss a
hundred pounds Exchequer Bills must give scent; to eighty shillings,
:onclusisae
being more than a year's interest ; this was in itself pretty
evidence of the interest being higher than the Money-market require..
it to Ise, and higher than the public need pay in order to protect the
Exchequer from any inconvenient application for repayment of the prin.
cipal. With respect to the rate of interest being kept up so high as to
make the premium 70s. to SOs. per cent. in order to protect the public
aeamst excessive speculation, it was wholly unintelligible. If the bete.
rest were lower, the premium wou'd be lower, but the quantity or
amount in circulation would remain the same. That could be no
protection which merely put money into the pockets of the fortunate
holders of Exchequer Bills.—(hear, hear.) But of all things he
wished to direct the Right Hon. Gentleman's attention to that subject,
which it was essential . should be brought clearly before the
House, namely, the alarming amount of the unfunded debt, and he
wes 'post anxious to understand what were the reasons which induced

the Right Honourable Gentleman to keep this debt up at a time
which appeared most favourable far reducing it. If the Right Hon.
Gentleman was justified by a prospective reference to excessive specu.
lations in keeping up the interest on Exchequer Bills, this was a reason
why he should reduce the amount of the unfunded debt, which would be
the most effective protection to the public Treasury against some of the
evils which generally followed excessive speculation. There was now an
unfunded debt of 44 millions. As to the savings' banks, he (Mr.
Easthope) quite concurred in all that had been said as to the propri-
ety of keeping up the pseseut rate of interest on the deposits in those
banks. Everything which had a tendency to encourage the humbler
classes in habits of industry and provident management should slow,
especially that the New Poor Law Act had come into opera-
tion, be warmly supported; but this had nothing to do with the
question immediately under consideration.—(Hear, hear.) What.
ever justification the Right Honourable Gentleman might have
conceived himself to have derived from 'the crisis of 1836, both in
respect to raising the interest and keeping up the amount of the un-
funded debt, the danger was past, and he could no longer have the
slightest pretext either for keeping up this alarming amount of un.
funded debt, or continuing the high rate of the interest on Exchequer
bills at a time when money was so cheap and so plentiful as it was at
present.—(Hear, hear.) Surely if any prospective fears justified the
Right Ilonourable Gentleman in keeping up the interest of Exchequer
bills, that wins a reason for reducing their amount; and when so reduced,
which might now be done with advantage, there could then be no pos_
sible difficulty in reducing the interest on the remainder. The Right
Honourable Gentleman was by his present course incurring a perilous re-
sponsibility, which lie would at a future time be, ill able to meet, if he
were overtaken by any of those calamitous
.changes to which nations are
liable,—(Hear, hear.)
Sir J. R. Rain and Mr. WILLIAMS explained.
Mr. A. YATES observed that it was the vicious system of paper_
money in America which hail caused ,nuch of the distress and difficulty
in which both countries had been involved.
The resolution was film agreed to, znd the house having resumed,
Mr BERNAL reported progress, and obtained leave to sit again on
Monday.