The Sun.
London, England, 1822-06-13 00:00:00

The Committee on the Irish Constables Bill was postponed
till Friday the 21st instant.
Sir J. NEWPORT wished to withdraw the Irish Payment
of Rent Bill, but doing so, he by no means wished to be un-
derstood as giving up the principle on which it was founded.
He should certainly bring it forward again in a future Session.
He moved that this Bill should be read a second time on that
day three months.—The motion was agreed to.
CURRENCY OF THE COUNTRY.
The Order of the Day was then read for resuming the debate
on the resumption of Cash Payments.
Mr. G. BENNET, before proceeding to make the few ob-
servations which lie was anxious to offer to the House, begged
that certain Resolutions come to by the House on the 14th
May, 1811, might be read by the Clerk, in order that the
House should have the subject more fully before them.
[The Clerk then read from the Journals the Resolutions
come to in 1811, declaring promissory notes of the Bank of
England to be equal in public estimation for all lawful pur-
poses to a like amount in the coin of the realm, and declaring
the situation of the country with respect to foreign Powers to
be sufficient, in the judgment of the House, to account for the
unfavourable state of the foreign exchanges and the high price
of bullion.]
Mr. BENNET then proceeded to explain the reasons which
influenced him in giving his vote as he proposed to do in fa-
vour of the motion of the Hon. Gentleman. He now saw that
the measure had produced much calamity, and although he was
not prepared to say that he would advise that they should re-
trace all their steps, he was ready to say that air inquiry ought
to take place in order to ascertain whether or not it was in the
power of Parliament to supply a remedy. He had heard much
of the speech of the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. iluskisson)
on the preceding night with pleasure. No man was better ac-
quainted than he could be with the evils resulting from such
variations of our system. But with what temper could that
Right Hon. Gentleman and the Noble Marquis near him hear
the remarks which had been made on the fatal consequences of
tampering with the currency of a country, when they knew that
they were the persons who had done this, and who had brought
us to the state in which we now found ourselves. They had
begun by cheating the public creditor, and now they had
cheated the public debtor, so that no class in the community
had escaped them. He defended his Honourable Friend's
view of the past depreciation of currency. The Honourable
Member then stated the prices of various commodities, in or-
der to shew the general depression of the currency. He con-
tended that the tamperings with the currency had been so
many violations committed upon private property. It was
to his Majesty's present Government that they owed all this.
And now, after cheating all the interests of the country, came
down to taunt his Hon. Friend below him, for the proposal
which he had made. They talked of keeping public faith; and
he desired that they should keep faith with the owners of other
species of property as well as the fundholder. It was said that
all private contracts were made with the knowledge of the de-
preciation on the part of ithose who so contracted. He knew
that some 'persons understood the subject ; those who were
called political economists knew it ; but the public saw a de-
claration of that House, which they had just now heard read,
that there was no depreciation whatever.—(Hear !)—This was
constantly asserted by Lord Liverpool, Lord Eldon, the Noble
Lord opposite, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. These were
the names that ought to be sent forth to the people in con-
nexion with the calamities they now endured, until they were
familiar in men's mouths like household words. The Right
Hon. Gentleman opposite had stated correctly the fact of the
alteration of the currency in the reign of William the
Third, but he ought to have looked to the circumstances
of the times under which that alteration was effected.
The fact was that the Crown at that time was tottering
on the' brow of its wearer, from the effects of the most
detestable Tory faction that ever axisted. The taxes
which then pressed upon the people were as nothing com-
pared to those which were now paid. The interest of the
debt at the present time, and the current expences of one year,
were greater than the sum extracted from the people during
the whole of the glorious reign of William 111. The Hon.
Gentleman proceeded to condemn in strong language those
who supported the suspension of cash payments in 1797. He
considered-the 83 millions which had been gained by the Bank
Directors to have been so much pillaged from the country by the
Government and the Parliament which entrusted such powers
to them as the administration of the currency. With regard to
those who had supported Ministers throughout the extravagant
war—he did not think himself more hard-hearted than other
men—but he should not be sorry to see those who had strutted
into the House country Gentlemen, now feel the consequences
of their conduct fall upon themselves and crawl out paupers.
—(A laugh.)—He should support the measure, because he
knew not which way to turn to relieve himself from the distress
and confusion with which he was surrounded, and because he
thought investigation might lead them to some course from
which such relief might be discovered.
Mr. Alderman II E'YGATE contended that the motion of
the llon. Member would not pledge the House to any par-
ticular course of proceeding. He considered that the measure
of 1819 was passed with a precipitous haste which was incom-
patible with the difficulty and importance of the subject. lie
should therefore vote for going into a Committee to see how far
they might mitigate the evils which had arisen. Ile thought
the present time to be most favourable to such a re-considera-
tion, and they were bound to afford all the relief in their power
which was safe and consistent with the public good. • Ile con-
demned the conduct of those who were entrusted with the
execution of the measure, in departing from the plan of the
Honourable Member for Portarlington, of paying in gold bars.
That plan, if it had been adopted in practice as well as in
theory, would have rendered the change more gradual, and
consequently less violent in its effects. He thought consider-
able advantage would have arisen to the country if the House
had not contented itself with adopting the resolution alone,
and then passing by the practical measure. In voting for the
motion, he certainly did not mean to say that they ought to re-
turn to an immediate issue of paper currency, nor did he mean
to support any dishonest or fraudulent debasement of the cur-
rency of the realm. It was new apparent that there was a
general feeling of uneasiness upon this question. It appeared
by the numerous petitions upon the table, that the people attri-
buted their unsettled state in a great measure to this cause,
tied he thought the House would not be doing its duty in refus-
ing investigation. He considered that they hat', for the last
few years, been tinder the dominion of philosophers, whose vi-
sionary and theoretical propositions had bewildered all practi-
cal men, and it was under the influence of this clamour that
the measure had been carried against the common sense of the
people and of Parliament. He disclaimed all personal feeling
whatever in what he had said of those Gentlemen, either there
or elsewhere, and in supporting the motion of the Hon. Mem-
ber, he should not bind himself to any propositions that might
be inconsistent with the honour or the justice of the country.
Mr. H. GURNEY had no hesitation in declaring his op-
position to the amendment of the Right Honourable Gen-
tleman, because it was impossible to say how soon cir-
cumstances might call upon the House to annul such a Re-
solution.
Mr. LEYCESTER supported the motion for going into a
Committee. He protested against any attack upon the Divi-
dends or upon Mr. Peel's Bill, but he thought it ought to be
followed up by economy in the public expenditure.
Mr. HALDIMAND opposed the motion. He defended the
conduct of the Bank, and said, that while it paid its notes in
gold there could be no pretence for charging it with unfairness
towards the public.
Mr. RICARDO commenced by saying that he agreed with
hisi Honourable Friend, that it was impossible to ascertain
how far purchases of gold, made by the Bank, would be likely
to affect the value of commodities. If the Bank, he would
suppose, reduced its circulation to five millions, it would
have the effect of making the exchange in our favour ; and
then large quantities of gold would be imported. Bat during
the interval the country would labour under the greatest dis-
tress. If the Bank had not commenced paying in cash till
1823, but had paid in bullion (of which they had a sufficient
supply in 1819, till they were obliged to pay. in coin), it would
have been a measure much more beneficial to the country.
He considered that much of the distress now existing was
owing to the improvident purchases made by the Bank. The
Bank had no defence to make against the charge of having pur-
chased up gold. Indeed, an Hon. Member had said, that the
Bank was pressed to purchase, owing to the number of forged
one-pound notes. But did they not contemplate such a conse-
quence, even when the purchases were made ? He concurred in
all the arguments of the Hon. Member for Shaftesbury as to
the circulation ; but from his views on that subject, he could
on
fotthceommporteiohnen. d
Ason towhat
the grreostutniedtisolnie
ofw otthileddivide currency,in hfeaveoounr_
ceived the Hon. Member for Essex (Mr. Western) began at
the wrong end, when he said the country banks should have
been compelled to pay in specie before the Bank of Eng-