The Sun.
London, England, 1825-09-23 00:00:00

BANK OF ENGLAND.

Yesterday
.the half-yearly Court of Proprietors
of Bank Stock was held at the Bank of England, and, owing
to the late rumours of fluctuations in the amount of the circu-
lation of the currency, and the expectation of impOrtani expla-
nations on a subject m which the public .are so deeply inte-
rested, there was a good attendance of Proprietors for this sea-
son of the year.--At twelve o'clock the Governor (C. BuLLER,
Esq.) attended by the Directors, entered the Court, and the
Secretary, according to the usual form, opened the business, by
reading the minutes of the former meeting.
The GOVERNOR then announced, that the Court of Di-
rectors had framed a resolution, which they now recommended
for the adoption of the Proprietors, founded upon their consi-
deration of the state cf Bank affairs, that a dividend of four per
cent., for interest and profit, be ordered to be paid for the half
year ending the 10th of October next.

BANK. ISSUES.

On the question being put from the Chair,
Mr. Youten rose and said, that he presumed the Proprietors
of Bank Stock were this day assembled to perform-a duty, of
the importance of which they must be perfectly aware. That
duty consisted, in the first place, in declaring a dividend ; but
surely, before they could do so, they must be apprised o the
foundation on which the Court of Directors rested their present
recommendation of four per cent. It was also very important
for them to require explanations respecting the employment of
the large capital of that Corporation ; the privileges of which
were great, and so closely interwoven with the general affairs of
the country. It was in this view, therefore, not only their own
private interests as Is sprietors which they ought to consider,
but also the larger interests of the community at large, whose
concerns were necessarily affected by the manner in which the
affairs of the Bank of England were managed. By their charter
they were invested with large powers, the exercise of which ma-
terially involved the public interests; so that, whether they
looked to their own immediate concerns as members of the Cor-
poration, or to their general relation to the country at large, it
was important for them on the present occasion merely to pause
for inquiry. They must recollect the great change
which had of late years taken place in the times.
They now lived in an age of universal inquiry; they
must be prepared to have their acts put to the test of public
opinion; there was no way of escaping that ordeal if they
would, so that they ought to weigh deliberately whatever course
of proceeding they thought proper to adopt. In making these
general and preliminary remarks, he meant not to insinuate
any thing against the conduct of their Directors. - Speaking as
an individual, he had no doubt that conduct would be always
fbund honourable ; but the liniger he lived the more convinced
he was, that the fullest and most satisfactory information ought
to be given by such bodies as he had now the honour of ad-
dressing, to place their mode of conducting business above all
equivocation or suspicion. He had, on former occasions, sup-
ported the conduct of the Directors ; he had also sometimes op-
posed some of their propositions which were, according to his
judgment, calculated to affect even the stability of the Bank of
England. He had always, for example, opposed advances upon
stock, because he could not bringshiroself to think that the
public debt of the country was a legitimate foundation upon
which to make any such loans. And further, he thought such
advances might tend to enhance improperly the power of indi-
viduals, and perhaps invite a dangerous blow at the regular
affairs of the Corporation, and the true interests of the commu-
nity. The facts which had since occurred bore him out in his
original opinion, and the Directors themselves had since de-
parted from their plan. He had also opposed their loans upon
mortgages, for though no doubt the property On which such
advances were made was secure, yet when lie looked at their
charter, he found they were prohibited from becoming dealers
in land ; and by the spirit of that prohibition it followed, that
they ought not to become the creditors of land, whereby they
might ultimately be placed in a situation of possessing it, or at
least exposed to some situation like that of its possession. He
had, as a farther objection, demurred to the issue of money on
mortgages, because such advances were calculated to increase
the circulating medium of the country beyond its fair and
legitimate proportion. The impolicy of incurring such a
consequence must be felt by all those who had witnessed the
violent alterations in the value of money within the last six

months, at one time creating an' artificial -glut, at another an
undue restriction. These general observation he merely threw
out for the purpose of.eliciting , some explanation for the pub-
lic satisfaction respecting the mode in ,Which the Bank affairs
had been conducted, so as that it should. be seen whether they
were, managed with that steady and even hand, neither sud-
denly extended on the one side, nor abruptly restricted on the
other Anothksubject on.which he could not but express his
regret was, the ednction of their diVidends from 5 to. 4 per
cent., which had, in' his opinion, the effect of driving out of
the country capital which' tight have been most advanta-
geously used in it, if the former amount of dividend were con-
tinued: indeed, he thought it had also been one of the sources
of those companies—those destructive companies—which- had
of late prevailed' to such an extent, and which were invented
upon the, false principle of combatting individuals, and extin-
guishing that individual' competition which was conducive to
the public welfare. He begged putlon for 'having thrown out
these genera observations, his, object when he rose being
merely to put a few queiitions to the Governor, as the organ of
the Court of Directors; and the first of them was—what was
the amount of Bank-notes now in circulation?
The GoVER/ion. said, that on the last occasion of the meet-
ing of that Court to declare a dividend, the Proprietors would
bear him out' in remembering that he had declared his readi;
ness to answer candidly and sincerely whatever questions were
put to him bY'anY Proprietor, so far as he felt such answers
consistent with the discretion which he was bound to exercise
in discharging the duties of the situation' which he had- the
honour of filling. lie. was now ready in the same manner to
offer any information which might be required consistently
with his duty, provided the questions were put to him in a
plain and distinct form. ,

- .
31r. YouNG—Then, Sir, I row plainly and distinctly ask
of you, what is the amount of your Bank-notes in circula-
tion .? What, in fact,. is the entire amount of the Bank

issues ?

. .
A ProPrietoi.here interposed to observe, that as Mr. Young
had intimated lielad other questions to put, perhaps it would
be better for him to state them all at once, and. then the Go-
vernor-could exercise, his discretion as to the answers.
" YOUNG said, that he meant only to put the usual
qtiestions,.and after he had put them in the manner which
seemed. to him proper, the. liovernor and the Cotirt could
then say whether they were of a nature which ought to be an-
swered.

The GOVERNOR said, that when the questions were put, he
bbould'exercise his discretion upon them.
Mr. YOUNG—Then, Sir, do one the favour to state what is
the present amount 'of the Bank of England notes in circu-
lation ?

The Go VESIN R—The present amount is about 18,200,000/.
and about. 400,000/1 less than it was ihis time.twelvernonth ;
consequently there has not been within the last year any great
change in the amount of the circulation.—(Loud cries of
".1-lear !") •

PRICE OF STOCKS TIIIS
B.lnk-Stock "shut.
3 'per 'Cent. Red.
3 per Cent. Cons.
31 per Cent. , • shut'
Ditto Red. __
4 per Cent. New
Bank long Ann shut I
India Stock

Ditto Bonds
South Sea Stock

PRICES OF FOREIGN F
.Austrian 1 d5,.5 percent....
Brazilian llds l6l 7. 6i
1825 841 dis.
------ Scrip
Buenos Ayres lids •
Chilian, lids, per eent..,
Colombian 6
lids, 6-per et. 774
Do. do., 1824 • • 76}, 5i
Danish, 5 percent. ... 1004 1
Do. Scrip 6.4 dis.
Greek Bds

Do. Scrip, 1825
Mexican 13cls - 73
Do. Scrip 1825 • 10 4 dig.
Neapolitan, 5 per cent. -

9.4. Y AT ONE O'CLOCK

Old Annuities
• New Ditto
.
Ex. Bill's Wool. 1:id•
Ditto ...•5091. l cl 4 5 pm.
Ditto Small liia•
DittoAavertised
Bank for Act.
India for Acct.
.Cons. -for Opening B3iia