The Sun.
London, England, 1847-06-26 00:00:00

BANK CHARTER.

- --
The following petition relative to the operation of Sir
Robert Peel's Bank Charter Act of 1844, is in the course
of signiture in the City:—
" To the Honourable the Commons of the United King-
dom, in Parliament assembled.
" The humble Petition of the undersigned Mer-
chants, Bankers, and Traders of London,
" Showeth—That there has lately been apparent
throughout the commercial and manufacturing commu-
nity of this country an extent of monetary pressure,
such as is without precedent in the memory of the oldest
living merchant.
" That this pressure has manifested itself in the fact
of the suspension of the ordinary facilities of business—
such as the discounting legitimate commercial bills of
unquestionable credit and solvency—and the witholding
other ordinary monetary accommodution.
" That this pressure has come upon the commercial
body at a time when there has been no undue extension
of the ordinary commerce of the country, nor any spirit
of speculation or overtrading afloat, so far as the trading
int_rest is concerned.
" That the deficient harvest of last year occasioned
the withdrawal from the Bank of England of a consider-
able portion of its bullio❑ to pay for imports of food from

foreign parts.
" That in former periods of the like visitation the
Bank of England has had the power, and has safely
used it, of continuing facilities to commerce during the
temporary pressure arising from a large and sudden im-
portation of food from foreign countries, until the
balance of trade should be restored by the ordinary course
of commercial pursuits.
" That to suppose that by any monetary regulation
it should be practicable to produce an increased demand
for British exports, simultaneously with the necessity
for British imports of grain, so that the one may be at
the moment available in payment for the other—is at
variance with the course of all mercantile experience.
" That it is in the nature of mercantile dealings, when
duly supported, to rectify, within a reasonable time, any
temporary inequality which temporarily disturbing
causes may produce ; on which account it is essential
that the power of giving temporary aid, if called for by
the mercantile body at such periods of emergency, should
exist.

" That it has recently become apparent that the Bank
of England is restrained by legislative enactment from
giving such facility, if called for.
" That that establishment has been compelled, by the
operation of the existing law to refuse discounting
commercial bills of the first credit, having not more than
three months to run.
" That the fact of such refusal, together with the
knowledge of the ground on which it was made, pro-
duced such a degree of consternation and disturbance
of public confidence throughout the country, that com-
mercial bills could only be discounted at all to a very
limited extent, and at rates of interest hitherto unknown
in this country.
" That one consequence of this state of things was an
immediate suspension of the execution of orders for
manufactures for distant markets, to the great distress
of the manufacturing districts, at the very moment when
there was an obvious policy in facilitating exports of
British production.
" That this suspension continues to the present mo-
ment to a large extent, and to the great injury of the
manufacturing population.
" That without detailing toyour Honourable House all
the cases of difficulty and perplexity, and paralysation of
business, resulting from such a state of things, your pe-
titioners venture broadly to state that the existing com-
merce of this country cannot be carried on, if the con-
tinuance of the facility of discounting legitimate com-
mercial bills be practically withdrawn.
" Your petitioners can hardly bring to the notice of
your Honourable House a more palpable view of the ex-
tent of embarrassment recently existing than in the fol-
lowing plain statement of facts, both occurring in the
same week:—
" Remittances of silver arrived from the Pacific in
payment for British manufactures. The Bank of
England refused either to buy or to lend money on this
silver to the merchants who received it, stating that
it held the full amount of silver bullion on which by
law it was permitted to issue notes, and that it could
take no more. Thus merchants, with silver in their
possession, could not obtain bank note's to meet their
engagements.
" It further occurred that a banking establishment at
some distance from the metropolis, having an accumula-
tion of silver of the coin of this realm beycind"its ordi-
nary need, tendered the same to the Bank of England, to
be exchanged for bank-notes. The Bank refused to re-
ceive it, stating, as in the former case, that it did not
possess the power to issue bank-notes on a larger amount
of silver than it already held.
" Your petitioners submit to your Honourable House
the unavoidable inference from all the facts they have set
forth, that the present state of the law has not answered
the purpose for which it was intended. From the time
of its being passed it has been practically inoperative,
until a great public calamity arises, and then, instead of
sustaining public confidence—the vital element of a com-
mercial body—it is found to shake to its centre. And yet
during the whole period of this remarkable pressure the
Bank of England has had more than nine millions of
bullion in its possession.
" Your petitioners are no advocates of an inconvertible
paper currency, but they are humbly of opinion that if
the Bank Charter Act had contained a relaxing power,
lodged in the executive Government, to be used—not in
relief of commercial improvidence or indiscretion—but
in the case of some great emergency. such as a short
supply of food, or the occurrence of any great political
crisis, the Bank of England would neither have been
compelled to have recourse to the restrictive measures it
has adopted, nor in all probability would any disturbance
of public confidence have taken place.
" Your petitioners believe that the knowledge of the
existence of such a power in the hands of the Govern-
ment would of itself at all times prevent that disruption
of confidence which is in itself the greatest evil that can
befal a commercial community—always aggravating in
a fearful degree whatever mischief may exist, and con-
tracting all monetary facilities at the moment when they
are most needed.
" Your petitioners are further humbly of opinion that,
considering that silver is the standard of currency in
nearly every state in Europe, and in most other parts of
the civilised world, and constitutes in itself, therefore, a
substantial and convertible security—it is wholly inex-
pedient to deprive the Bank of England-of the power of
issuing bank notes on the deposit of that metal to any
extent it may think proper, while it retains its responsi-
bility to pay its notes in gold.
" Your petitioners are aware that the recent monetary
pressure has been some times attributed to the large out-
lay which has taken place in the construction of railways
in this country.
" Your petitioners are not called on to offer any opi-
nion on this question, the commercial community being
no way responsible for the extent of the outlay. They
would only, as a matter of fact, remark, that whatever
may have been the amount of outlay on these works,
there was no considerableadvance in the rate of interest,
nor did any monetary pressure arise, until other causes
came into operation.
" Your petitioners cannot omit to represent to your
Honourable House the existence of one additional ele-
ment in the recent pressure—of no inconsiderable force
—the demand made by the Queen's Exchequer on the
Bank of England for assistance to meet the engagements
of the Government.
peti-
tioners that the power olft humbly
theßan pa
Bank
atpoiess rs t o y
ue n
ot oeus r
beingpe t i-
strictly limited by law, a great hardship is inflicted on
the commercial community when the Bank is compelled
by the wants of Government forcibly to diminish the
accommodation it would otherwise be enabled to afford to
that body, and this, too, at a time when the Bank is
called upon, by causes of peculiar urgency, to enlarge
such accommodation to the utmost extent of its ability.
Your petitioners humbly, but earnestly, suggest to the
consideration of your Honourable House that this power-
fully disadvantageous action on the resources of the Bank
ought not to be allowed to continue without countervail-
ing means being provided to meet it.
" Your petitioners desire further to represent to your
Honourable House. that although the pressure of which
they have been speaking is now partially reneveu, uono-
dence is not restored, and the rate of interest on com-
mercial bills is still unusually and injuriously high. And
)•our petitioners feel bound to state that in the event of
any new cause of alarm arising, there is every ground
for believing, while the law remains in its present state,
that a pressure equally or still more severe may return,
enng,
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ar
House of
with consreqruieintunceesnitimotayeansiol
easily
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severity.
" Your petitioners, with all humility, submit the fore-
going considerations, affecting as they do, in a national
sense, very large and extended interests, to your Honour-
able House; and they pray
" That your Honourable House will be pleased to
consider the expediency of so amending the Bank
Charter Act that a relaxing power may be lodged in the
hands of the executive Government, and that the Bank
may be permitted to issue notes on silver bullion without
restriction.
" And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever
pray, &c."

THE Pops of the 14th
publishes the following letter from
Hnomanedience to tan
son Pope Pius IX. gave to-day a
AND MRTOMCONNELL.—The Univers
eulogy on Daniel O'Connell in terms.
son of the Liberator of Ireland, andwbpreobnomuunsctedhaavne
Member for Dundalk. I have been told that a
excited the gratitude and admiration of
mo-
mentthtetbyeoung
of the Holy Father, the Pope said to him,. Since e
when the visitor was rising, after kissing, the feet
been denied the happiness, so long desired, of embracing
the hero of Christendom, let me have at least the conso-
lation
of embracing the son,' and, at the same time,
IX.e
Ilwioslyecylttlgrbperkesnsoewdnhitmbattwiitcewtaos his heart.
that a solemn service will be celebrated, and that the pane-
gyric of the illustrious deceased will behpronounced.
order
that
, is on the 25th inst. that these funeral homages will„ be
rendered to the memory of the Liberator of Ireland."
THE COLLIERY ACCIDENT AT FELLING:GATES..
HEAD, THURSDAY.—The explosion which occured at
Felling Colliery has caused the death of four men and
two boys, eighteen horses and two ponies. There were
fourteen men and boys in the pit at the time of the acci-
dent, eight of whom were got out alive. Two ponies
j also escaped. The immediate cause of the accident has
I not yet been discovered. A coroner's inquest on view
' of the bodies was opened this afternoon, when evidence
as to their identity was received, and the inquiry was
adjourned till Wednesday in neat week.