The Sun.
London, England, 1825-03-23 00:00:00

[NI 0 It'N G POST.]

Several subjects'of vast importance to Ireland
have bee►i mentioned last week in the House of
Commons. Among them, the Banking System,
the Putter Trade, and the restrictions on the
Commerce of that country with Great Britain,
are most entitled to attention. With respect to
the first, to which we shall limit ourselves at
present, it divides itself into two hr;u►ches—that
confined. to the Bank of Ireland, and that wl►ich re-
gards private bankers. That the Bank of Ireland
may have acted of late years w itlfexcessive caution

may be quite correct; but,perbaps,the fact is refer-
able
to the severe losses of the establishment pre-
viously, in consequence of its extreme, its impru-
dent liberality. In saying this, we are perfectly
aware, that the Bank has not generally dis-
counted bills accepted by persons residing out of
Dublin ; but before a rule be judged of by com-
parison with the practice of this country, it ought
to be inquired whether the situation of Ireland
in all that relates to Mercantile concerns has
been similar to that of England—and such as
to warrant the adoption of the same line of
conduct in both Nations. For our part, we
think as applies to the past, the Bank might be able
to justify its circumscribed local accommodation
on tolerably valid grounds, at the same time we
hope it no longer feels any necessity for conti-
nuing these restrictions. But as regards the con-
duct of that Institution towards the people of
Dublin, we very confidently affirm that so far
from having been illiberal in discounting Paper,

it has been the reverse—and has suffered accord-
ingly. The Bank of Ireland has uniformly cashed
bills having the single endorsement of the persons
with whom it keeps accounts, and perhaps its
greatest fault (except during periods of panic),
has been too little regard to the solvency
or character of the acceptors of paper so
endorsed. We therefore think the charge of
illiberality within these conditions not deserved.
That the Bank too was tardy in lowering its rate
of discount below five per cent. may be ascribed
to two causes-Ist, That the legal rate of in-
terest in Ireland is six per cent., and that al-
though the great increase of capital here might
reduce the value of money at a particular time,
it by no means follows that a corresponding in-
crease of capital and reduction of its annual rate
of interest, should, at the same moment, have oc-
curred in the Sister Country. It is also but fair to
remark, that notwithstanding the difference of one
per cent. in the legal interest of money between
England and Ireland, the legal rate of dis-
count in the latter is only five per cent. and of
course more never was obtained by the Bank
at periods of the greatest scarcity of the cir-
culating medium. But while we state these
facts in justice to that Establishment, do we
think it has otherwise acted so as to avoid cen-
sure ? Certainly not. The very facilities already
mentioned, which it has too often afforded
for raising money and keeping up false credit
by means of a ruinous trade, in accommodation
bills, has frequently done the greatest mischief
to individuals and to the community. Not a
single circumstance, however, can be alleged
against that Institution of which every private
Bank in Ireland has not been guilty to a most
aggravated extent, and to the most fatal results.
We hope a new era has now arrived