The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-15 00:00:00

TRE

Court of Rome. But the que.-.tion sysFi one exceedingly in
tricate—intricate in point of law, a•c:1 a, to polity, likely to
excite considerable diseu,sion. The law, as it at present
stands, is extremely doubtful ; there are some words in he Act
of Parliament to which it is impossible to give a strict legal
interpretation, and, therefore, as the law at present stand,
it would not be adrisa.ile to send an accredited representative
to bonne. At the present late period of the session, he did
not think that they could introduce a Bill to make this law
clear. He could not introduce such a Bill, but he did hope at.
some future time to legislate upon the subject, and he did
think that it would be most desirable to establish more formal
diplomatical relations.
LOAN DISCOUNT BILL.

Lord JOHN RUSSELL moved that the House do ge into
Committee upon the Loan and Discount Bill.
The Marquis of GRANBY said that he felt that he should
make some apology to the House for venturing to address them
upon such an important subject. He conceived, however, that
the question for discussion was not to be confined to the pro-
positions of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but that they
should take a more extended view, and see how far the law of
1544 had reference to the subject. It had been admitted on all
hands that the distress was excessive. On that subject he
would read a letter from Mr. Foster, of York, in which it was
stated that the distress in the country was very great, and that
not fryer than 9,000 operatives in one part of the country
were out of employment. In another 433 mills were working
short time. This distress had taken place under the law of
1844; it was said then that it was impossible to foresee what
would be the evils which would spring from it. It was true
that the vessel of the state swam gallantly on when all
was calm, but the first moment a storm arose she did
not answer her helm. The Bill of 1844 was intended to be the
helm, and while there was no want of its guiding power, all
went well, but when the moment of peril came, it hael been
found wholly inoperative. It had been said, how could all
these evils be foreseen ? It was asked, could the potato failure
he prophesied, the scarcity of corn foretold, and the speculation
in railways been prevented. The Hon. Member for Shrews-
bury had presented a memorial on the subject, so had all the
eminent bankers of the City, but they did not receive any atten-
tion. He begged the House to consider the distress the present
currency policy would insure. The mills it would stop, the
labourers it would throw idle, the commercial and trading em-
barassments it would occasion. If they did so, he was sure they
would see the importance of a change. He had in his possession
a return of the raw cotton in the ports of London, Liverpool,
and Glasgow in 1845, 1846, and 1847, the bales of cotton were
1,624,744 ; in 1846, 1,576,804; and in 1847, only 1,320,944.
There had been imported between the months of January and
the 30th of April, 1845, 727,784 bales ; in 1846, 501,107; and
in 1847, only 487,154. At the present time there were no
stocks en hand to meet any extra demand that might spring up,
and therefore for some time there was no relief to be expected
from such a quarter. What was the function of money but to
facilitate exchange? and if so, when population increased, and
property enlarged, might not also the circulating medium so
expand in the same ratio ? But the Bank Act of 1844 pre-
vented this, and said whatever the exigencies of the country
may be, it would not allow the currency to be increased, unless
a certain amount of gold was in possession. This, too, was
stated by a Government that was obliged to make issues on
Government securities.—( Hear, hear.) In 1845, they had
heard a good deal about the great benefit the free trade measures
would produce. Look at the state of the country now. A great
variety of duties had been taken off in pursuance of the
free trade theory, and the result was not to increase the
importation of real necessaries of life, but to lead to a great im-
portation of mere luxuries, many of which had abridged the
field of labour at home. The excess of such imports in 1847,
as compared with 1845, was 4,333,792/., in official value. Such
had been the result of their free trade policy, America was
enabled to get a higher price for her provisions than any other,
and therefore they could not judge of their free trade by the
case of America. He considered that the Noble Member for
Lynn bad spoken out the true policy which ought to be pur-
sued, when he said—protect your own industry, protect your
own manufactures. He considered the truth of that sentiment
was daily proved, and no matter what eloquence opposed it.
He hoped that the Government would listen to the voice of the
intelligent and industrious people of the country, by extending
the currency by repealing the Act of 1844.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that
the main portion of the Noble Lord's speech was directed
against free trade, but he forgot to take into calculation how
long free trade had endured with unexampled prosperity to
the country. For it was not until last August when they
began to import corn that gold began to flow out of the
country.—(Hear, hear.) The Noble Lord could not say that
their produce was diminished by the Act of last year.—( Hear,
hear.) Of course not; well then, he would ask him, how
would it stand with them had not these restrictions been taken
off. lie would not follow the Noble Lord into the extensive
field of argument, into which they had been invited to enter
The Hon. Member opposite had asked him to give a pledge.
that in no case whatsoever would he call upon the Bank for de-
ficiency bills. Now he would not make any such promise. It
is perfectly true that the question on which the country was
intereted was that of the currency, the maintenance, or the
non-maintenance of the Act of 1844. On that question, the
Right Hon. Member for Tamworth stated most freely to the
House, that no affection for his own offspring should induce him
from giving afull consideration to the question, He had not the
slightest objection to such a discussion, and no doubt it might
be well to bring it before the House ; but the question of re-
pealing it had never entered, and he trusted never would
enter into the contemplation of her Majesty's Government.
and when he gave it the most unshaken support, 'he then sat
upon the opposite side of the House.—(Hear, hear.) But he
did give it his firm support because he had come to a deep-
seated conviction that the Bill did carry in it the sound prin-
ciples on which the currency was to be based. He was placed in
the situation of Chairman of the Bank Committee, and they
had examined before them some of the ablest men in the coun-
try. There opinions were carefully examined, and he entered
the Committee without any prejudice on one side or another,
but he did leave it impressed that the principles of the Bill were
sound. In that opinion he remained unshaken; and as to the
expediency of that Act, he was more and more confirmed by
the discussion which had taken place, because nothing could be
more apparent then the extraordinary discrepancy of opinion
which existed amongst the advocates of its abolition. The
Hon. Member for Birmingham said, the measure was indis-
pensableodlsifl
9 ; we
arefoarndeatrtho ti
ryeinanagwsfey houtgiem tthe Act of the year 1819,
and
wbeackaretote threepeyalearthe
They had no silver standard then, nothing could be 1.7A.9re7e.t
dangerous or uncertain than to repeal the Act. Hon. Gen-
tlemen could agree as to what should be the state of the law
after its repeal. Another Hon. Member recommended the
aisdsoupet.ionnoef
ofurgehet,trhaodweeviner,batonkrinefe,r
twhich means unlimited
of A e
rmy epr
oi ca
in 1837, when unlimited issue was permitted° theas
case
eth etv
sible guard, but where it ended in the universal suspension of
the Union.
payments,
faonrdHvoenr.yGgeenntelermalenba.npkprztecywriiif
o
clthtaewhilr
asnotexpectationsai with regard to the measure of thlsl4 ey found
realised, to turn round to blame them on his side of the House
not
for holding out expectations directly the converse of what they
really did hold out. He was very much surprised
at the charge of the Hon. Member for Huntingdon
with respect to the conduct adapted by Government
with regard to the loan. If the contractors of that
loan were deceived, they must have deceived themselves as
the Government had made them perfectly aware of their inten-
tions. His object was to effect the arrangements connected
with the loan, with as little disturbance to the monetary affairs
of the country as possible. He did not assent to the proposal
of the contractors to spread the loan over a longer period of
payment, and to give a larger amount of discount. Circum-
stances had, however, changed since then, and he
had made the proposal now before the House, to
give a larger amount of discount, that there might
be a larger balance in the Exchequer before July next.
The Noble Lord seemed to think that the pressure might have
been foreseen. Now, everybody knew long ago that the pro
bability was that there would be a large importation of corn,
and that it must to a certain extent cause a drain of gold.
But he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) doubted whether
even so late as February or March last any one anticipated the
severity of the pressure which was experienced in April. It
had been stated that the present contraction in the circulation
was occasioned by the existence of deficiency bills. But he
should like to state to the House what on former occasions of
pressure had been the amount of deficiency bills, and compare
it with the amount of accommodation afforded to the public in
the way of discounted bills. The House would see that during
the two severe pressures which occurred in 1837 and 1839,
both being coincident with the payment of the dividends,
there was a larger amount of deficiency bills, and a smaller
amount of accommodation by the discount of bills, than at
present, and yet we never heard of any such extraordinary
outcry against the existence of deficiency bills as was now
raised. The periods he would refer to were the 10th of
January, 1837, the 15th of October, 1839, and the 10th of
April, 1817. On the 10th January, 1837, the amount of circu-
lation, including 1,000,000/. of Bank post bills, was 18,700,000/.
Outstanding deficiency bills, 4,800.000/., and private securi-
ties, 17,900,000/. On the 15th of October, 1839, the circu-
lation was 17,600,000/.; deficiency bills, 4,300,000/. ; private
securities, 13,000,0001.; and on the 16th of April, 1847, the
circulation was 20,400,0001.•' deficiency bills, 2,400,000/.
private securities, 18,000,004. Dating a week later in each
of these three periods, he found that in 1;'37 the circulation
was 19,000,000/. ; deficiency bills, 4,31/4)0,0,;(3.; private secu-
rities, 17,000,000/. In 1839, the circulation was 17,700,000/.;
deficiency bills, 4,200,000/. ; private securities, 12,100,000/. ;
whereas, in the corresponding week, of April, 1847, the circu-
lation was 20,242,001'/. ; deficiency bills, 1,300,0001. ; private
securities, 17,000,000/. Thus, comparing 1839 with 1847, the
circulation was nearly three millions higher in the latter than
in the former period, the deficiency bills two millions less, and
the private securities five millions more. He thought, there-
fore, that they had attributed a great effect to a
very small cause, when they stated that the amount
of private accommodation had been very much re-
duced on account of the existence of these deficiency bills.
denied some charges which had been combatted in that House
as having been made against the Bank of England by the ad-
vocates of the measure of 1544, but he denied those charges, as
they had never been made by the Government. The Hon.
Member for Shrewsbury was right in principle with regard to
the circulation of 18:16, 1839, and 1847, but he thought the
lion. Member for Shrewsbury, and the Noble Lord the Mem-
lser for Lynn, were inconsistent with regard to the statement of
the operation of the measure of 1844. The one said that the
Act had the effect of contracting the circulation, and the other
said that had it been in operation in 1839 it would be wholly
inoperative. Now he did not think that both the Honour-
able Gentleman and the Noble Lord could bath claim the
benefit of the different views they took of that measure.
What then was the professed objects of this Bill? It was in-
tended to regulate the paper in reference to the metallic cur-
rency. This being the professed object of the Bill, if what had
happened under special circumstances, might have happened
with a purely metallic currency, then it had effected as much,
and even more, than it professed. If, under the same circum-
stances, which had existed for the last eight months, they had
had a pure metallic currency, or if the gold had gone direct
from the Mint, and not from the Bank of England, there
would still have been a drain of gold, as there had been from
the coffers of the Bank, and there would have been no more
in the pockets of the people_ He was rather surprised
at an assertion made by a Noble Lord about the con-
vertibility of the coinage. He did not know how to
treat it, for it was hardly intelligible.—(Laughter.) Why,
convertibility, when used by any one, meant that for a pound-
note
the holder could at any time receive a sovereign in gold.
t:mhhoeeaarnenogntseehbfoywourhil
tdao
wauLaswese d,apyt the word
edw-at enhroegdtoel could ould for a moment suppose that
samean d amountthat sovereignsv a
esoeftehlgedopl
principle
pVolthe
1844, which was founded upon the Act of 1819
utei shouldieptowantps_heoeraf sst
thhgbaiineuadlanradarsondenbtc
be actually
security iitegnymoo l
tebd equal Act of
r,b(f
,oaf:rnit
tprt
pe.ha lepprgtoai
particular
tanhi
ut r
l:ctaahhurbale•avtr
e
er
brought forward a measure which could carry '•
out his views,
perhaps it might be possible to discuss them. The Hon
Member for North Warwickshire, who did nothold the opi-
nion of the Hon. Member for Birmingham, maintained the
standard had been fixed by the Acts of 1844 and 1819. The Act
of 1844 only regulated the ratio of paper circulation to the
gold coinage ; the Act of 1819 did not do much
mrivaeacifrreoeyntrloiyvntegtrithrthmiebe,soail,
niei:rionleefgotnhweiuutacAhxhaanma;:i
more. For in
1817 the faith of Parliament was pledged, and the old standard
was practically restored in that year. But suppose the Hsu.Member's ideas were put to practice ; suppose that 100 grains,
instead of 123 grains, were adopted; that a pound should be a
dollar ; he did not mean to say it would pass fora
pound,
because if the people on the other side of the Atlantic agreed
to create a currency of 123 grains of gold, they would
expect in exchange for cotton, or any other commodity,