The Sun.
London, England, 1812-05-02 00:00:00

BANK OF ENGLAND.

The Earl of LAUDERDALE, pursuant to notice;
rose to submit, he said, one of the most important
topics to their Lordships consideration which ev,r
engaged the attention of the British Legislature. rt
referred in no small degree to a Bill then before their
Lordships, which he deemed of such importance;
that the great question respecting the 'East India
Company was in his mindarifliog, when compared
tout. His Lordship then, in a speech of consider-
able length, adverted to the prominent parts of the
history or the Balk of England from its first estaa
blishrnent ; its various transadions, and occasional
connthion, particularly of late years, e ith Govern,
ment. its immense paper issues were, he said;
to be attributed many of the internal evils expert-,
enced by the country, from which, and the encou-
rag,ement thereby afforded to the establishment and
issue of paper by country bulks ; the exorbitant
prices of Rrovisions in various parts of the country
proceeded. The policy of. Government, with re•
sped to that great compensation, was such as held
out no prospect of its ever resuming cash payment..
He deprecated the various political and domest.c
evils which he argued must arise from an excessive
paper currency, which the bill alluded to would go
to confirm and extend, by making Bank notes a le-
gal tender. The Noble Lord described the motion
with which he meant to conclude, which was for a
Committee of the whole House, to inquire into the
present sale of the metallic and p iper currency
throughout the kingdom, and into such changes as
have taken, place in the n.tture of the transactions
of the B ink of England, since the year 1797, and
into the various prices of commodities, with a view
to ascertain whether there existed a price in coin
arid a price in paper, and whether the prices of com-
modities were not advanced in consequence ? He
repeated, that•these important considerations called
(or the most serious attention of their Lordships
The distresses of the country were great, and itg
general prospect alarming; and they were called
upon, by every sense of feeling and duty, to in-
quite into the subject, with a view to ascertain the
causes of such extensive evils, and with a view of
endeavouring to remove them. His Lordship cod•
eluded by moving for a Committee as above.
Earl BATHURST observed, the greeter part, if not
the whole of the ground on which the Noble Lord
proceeded Was an assumption that there was not
sufficient information to enable them to judge of
the Bill now pending before the House, to which
he had made such ample reference. Their Lot).-
ships would recoiled the vast number of documents
already -before theria, on the' motions of the Noble
Earl himself, who, instead of moving for pipet after
paper, might have ere now come tarward in this
general wrong, and taken the sense of the House
upon the proposition. To his mind, it did not ap-
pear that the Noble Lord had laid any ground
whAtever for .the inquiry, and he must observe, his
arguments instead of applying against the particular
measure aimed at, were applicable in any manlier
to a questioti.ot the continuance of the restriclions
on the Bank. The proper course, he thought,
would have been to move for a Committee in
the first instance; but he could not conceive that
the Noble Lord had made out any case fur the pre-
sent motion.

The Marquis,of LANSDOWN supported the motion
of his Noble Friend, on the ground that some limit
should be fixed to the operation of a measure which
he did not hesitate to call the greatest financial evil
that had ever befallen the country. As to security
against excessive issues by the Bank, which tie rur-
suit of their own interest afforded, it did not appear
to him in any way satisfaatory ; for though the Batik
would naturally enough abstain from such an ex-
cessive issue as must injure its credit, there were
many degrees before it came to that extremity. By
the present &It, an alteration Was made in the rela-
tion between the Bank of England and the country,
. which rendered some additional regulations neces•
saty, and- their Lordships should consider that the
prerogative of the Crown, to stamp the value on the
cut rent coin, was placed in the hands of the Bank of
England, by the measure to which he alluded. He
allowed that an immediate return to the old esta-
blished rule would not be advisable, but the present
motion he thought necessary for the purposes of re-
gulation and controut.
.

Lord SIDIqOUTH maintained, that whatever the
present relation between the Bank of England and
the public was, it was precisely the same as had
existed Irom the passing of the Restridtion Act in
1797. He denied that Bank notes were made a
leg tender by the Bill, which only provided that
they should prevent any person from being arrested.
And, as to the alleged depreciatic;i, be contendeJ,
that neither the existence of double prices, nor the
augmentation of the price of commodities, was any
proof of it. After some observations on the Bank
of England as a Corporation, and on the propriety
With which it had uniformly concluded itself, tn.

Noble Lord concluded with expressing his dissent
fromthe motion, as nothing conid hr-expeaed from
the Committee, according to the Noble Marquis's
Marquis of .Landsdo):vn) own, admission, who
had acknowledged that it would be dangerous to re-
vert to the old system.

Lon► ROSSLYN spoke at some length in favour o,
the motion.

Lord LAUDERDALB made a general reply.
After which the motion was negatived without a
division.

The House then went -into a Committee on the
Gold Coin Biji, in which
Lord LAUDERDALE proposed some amendments
which rejetted. The pill was ordered to be
reported without any amendments, and the House
zdjouriled to Monday next.

HOUSE OF COMMONS,

rRIDAY, MAY 1.

- A new Writ was ordered for the Borough of
,Langston, in the room of the Hon. Captain BEN-
NETT, who, since 'his eleaion, had accepted the
Chiltern Mundteds.
Mr. EYRE presented a Petition from Nottingham,
complaining of the evils which they suffered from
the pradtices of evil disposed persons, direaed
against the stocking frames, &c. and praying 'relief.
Ordered to lie on the table.
Mr. WILBERFORCE presented a Petition from the
Shipwrights (1 Bridlington, against the encourage-
ment given to bUilding Ships in the East Indies.
Ordered to lie on the table.
On the motion of Sir G. HILL, an Account was
ordered to be laid before the House of the quan-
tity of Irish and Foreign .Linens retained' for home
consumption for the. three years ending-,sth Jan..
1812.

On the motion of Sir HOME Portram, the Papers
presented on the 2 Ist ult. relative to Captain King's
claim, were ordered to be printed.
Mr. J. SMITH' presented a Petition from Not-
tii:Oarn, against certain fraudulent radices, in
the stocking matnufa6ture. Ordered to lie on the

The Me3clge of the Lords respeaing the fourth
_ .

Revrr of the East Ind,a
,Affairs, was taken into
tug Cher consideration,•and a printed Copy of the Re-
port was ordered to be sent to their Lordships.

Mf, VARTIN brought in a Bill to regulate the
Offices of Deputy Remetobrancer of the Court of
Exchequer. Read 'a first time, and ordered to
be r-ad a second ;ime on Friday, and to be printed..
On the rnwity) •of Mr, WHARTON, it was or-
deted, That at its rising, the House should adjourn
to Monday.
The Excise -Superannuailon Bill was read a se-
cond (Inv-, and ordered to be committed on Monday.
The General Enclosure Bill was read a second
time, and ordeted to be committed on this day three
weeks,

On the motion 6f Mr. CALCRAPT, there was or-
dered to be lrid before the House ar, Account of the
Nunib r of Recruits raised monthly,. from the 24th
December, 1411, to the 24th April, 1812, by or-
dinary Recruiting, exclusive of the Foreign and
Colonial Corps..
On .ihe motion of Mr. W. POLE, Copies of the
13th and 14th Reports of the Board of Education
in Ireland, were ordered to be laid before the
Home.

A person from the OlEe of the Chief Secretary
f)r Ireland, immediately presented the above, which
tvere ordered to lie on the table.

Mr. W. PoLa.gave notice that he would move
th,e Miscellaneous Services for Ireland, i❑ the Com-
mittee of S'apply, on Monday.
Mr. WHARTON brought up the Report of the
Committee on the Copper Duties. Agreed to, and
a Bill ordered accordingly. •
The Bill (or better manning ships employed in
the Southern Whale Fishery, was read a 'second
time, and.ordered to be committed on Monday.