The Sun.
London, England, 1847-04-27 00:00:00

Air. HUMMLs trusted that the House would never give its
sanction to time motion of the Hon. Member. At the present
moment the Scottish schools derived their subsistence from the
land orthensighbourhood, and it was entirely owing to that sys-
tem that the people in Scotland were not in so educated a state
as they were forty years ago. He trusted that this system
would s ,l 1 be followed out ; for he believed that it would be
eminently advisable to follow out that plan ; far he deemed it
unfair, that the money of the Exchequer should be sent to
Scotland when there was already such sufficient means in exis-
tence.
Mr. FORBES SJACKZNZIZ thought, if the money was
to 10 paid, that Scotland was as much entitled to a portion of
the grant as any other district.
Mr. HOPE attached more importance to tke measure of the
s4:arine of the schoolmasters than to the reception of the
teacher pupils.
Lt.rd JOHN RUSSELL interposed to say that he had as
yet been unable to express any mature opinion, but he trusted
shortly to do so ; and certainly it would be a matter that
would engage his most serious attention.—(Cheers)—and a
minu.e could shortly be framed.
The mutton was then withdrawn without a division.
RAILWAYS, PIERS, AND HARBOURS (IRELAND)

BILL.
On the motion being read for this Bill going into
Committee-
-11,. HUME wished to know whether the Government was
prepared with any specific statement as to what they in-
tendv.i to do ? replied that
Tl•e CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
they were.
The House dien went into Committee.
Tile CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that
in this Committee his object was to grant a sum not more
sl,an 620,0001. The capital of the Great Southern and
We,ti•rti Ireland Railway Company was 2,600,0001., of which
the paid up capital was 1,400,000/. They had a power to
raise 500.000/• by way of loan, and he was ready to advance
aaerher 500,000/• at five per cent. in six instalments; and
he believed that most of the money would be advanced be-
fore the winter. The next railway which he proposed
to assist was the Waterford and Kilkenny Railway.
The capital was 250,000/., of which the paid up
capital was 125,0001., and to that company he proposed to lend
the SUM of 831001. The next company was that of the
Dublin and Drogheda Company, the capital for which was
15a,ir,01., with a power to raise 100,000/. more, and to that
company he proposed to lend 36,0001., the whole of the rest of
the caintsl to be raised by calls.—(Cheers from both sides.)
Thus he did not propose to lend more than 620,0001., which
ua. to bear as interest of five per cent., secured upon the
whole of the works. While making this statement he had tee
greatest pleasure in informing the House that the expence of
the pul,lie works had been greatly reduced. During the last
six weeks it had been reduced from 1,000,0001. a month to

40.40001., thus making a reduction of more than 400,0001.
By the reports for March, the sum paid in wages was 245,0004,
while during the next month up to the 24th of April the sum
expended was only 125,0001., showing a reduction of more
than one half. This would unquestionably be a great relief not
only to the companies,
_ but to the landowners.
Mr. HUME thought that great care ought to be
taken in granting supplies for such an object as this, and he
believed that Ministers must surely have forgotten what had
pissed oa a late occasion. At that time, when the Bank bad
upwards of 15,000,0001. of specie' in their coffers, and had
b •en granting discounts at three-and-a-half per cent. they had
refused their assent to such a measure as this, but now,
w hen the amount in the company's hand was reduced to
Several Members—No, no, 9.000,000/.
Mr. HUME—WeII he supposed that it was 7,000,0001., but
if 9,000,000/. the case was still the same. What was the
situation of railways in this country or acrosss the Channel ?
Could they borrow at five per cent. ? Could they borrow at,
pis per cent. ?—( Mr. Hudson, " Yes.")—He was glad to hear
it ; certainly his information had been different.—( Hear.)
He understood that to.day the Exchequer-bills could
hardly be discounted. Were these the times when
the Government should propose to make large advances for
works in Ireland which would not benefit the people ? He
thoeant not, and he hoped the hour of the night was such that
Sir, Greene would report progress and ask leave to sit again.
He moved to that eAc t.
Mr. ROEBUCK seconded the motion of the Hon. Member.
+'r. GOULBURN was of opinion that the Hon. Gentle-
man% .notion ought to be acceded to.
Mr. B. OSBORNE said he felt he was taken by surprise
by the Right Hon. Gentleman the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer. Me was surprised, too, that before so many
In.h representatives, there should have been no one to speak
upop the vote bet himself. Had he not taken it up, the vote
would have passed sub silentio. He specially repudiated the
bestowment of the money as a boon. He expected that the
Chancellor of the Exchequer would have proposed a sufficient
sum to be laid out in a remunerative manner. He would not
say di, sixteen millions, for he thought the Noble Lord (G.
Ben, tick) was wrong in that; but he wished the Right Hon.
Gentleman had proposed something other than 600,0001.,
which eould do little more than help such as perhaps the Great
South_ Western Railway.
Th. CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER saw that
there was likely ' to be an Irish debate, and he would accede
t" the Hon. Member's motion,. unless they would consent to
an...l,,erned debate.

ROEBUCK could not consent to any step which would
commit him to a principle which he repudiated.
Vird GEORGE liIENTINCK said he had no objection to
the il,ght Hon. Gentleman proceeding with the Bill, but there
was -more joy ever one sinner that repenteth"--(Laughter).
lie wis glad to see that the Right Hon. Gentleman had at
lease. h come to see the propriety of laying out the Government
imiti-y on reproductive walks. He was wrong in supposing
tea! his (Lord G. Bentinck's) plan was an indiscriminate
15,,ctPT‘l of loan. But that was a fault which he thought cer-
tanlb applied to the scheme of the Right Hon. Gentleman.
The ..HANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER explained
that his plan was to lend only in case of one half of the capital
being paid up. And in the particular case alluded to 1,400,0001.-
hao peen paid up out of a capital of 2,600,0001.
Lord G. BENTINUK said his plan distinctly was not indis.
criminate, for he proposed lending to those companies only
where one. third had been paid up of the capital- lie
found now that his calctlations had been too low. He

wouid ask what was the state of the money market now ?
‘Ver. not Exchequer-Bills at 4s. discount, and would it not be
cere,sery for the Right Hon. Gentlerrian to raise the interest
ou them.—( Hear, hear.) All ha (Lord G. Bentinck)
wanted was to raise 4,000,0001. every year for four years, and
if his proposition had been assented to three months ago the
large expenditure now ramie on unproductive works
in Ireland would have been saved. He hoped the
Right Honourable Gentleman would give them same
information on the money market, and on the

state of trade. He wished to know what would be the effect
of the large export of gold that would be still required. He
wished to know was it railway legislation that raised the dis-
count en good bills to 7 and g per cent., and that reduced
Exchequer bills to 4s. per cent discount ? He asked whether
it was the intention of Government to allow things to proceed
eon this downright course till the country could no longer bear
it, or whether it was the intention to make some relaxation of
the rues relative to the currency, by which, after the issue of
fourteen millions of bank notes, the Bank of England was
restricted from issuing any further amount, unless it had gold
in ite coffers to meet the issue.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the
Noble Lord had touched upon a subject which it would be
most inconvenient, at a minute's notice, to discuss, especially at
that tall' of the night ; he would, however, in answer to the
Noble Lord, say that he, with others who took so low and de-
sponding a. view of the state of things, took an erroneous view
or the circumstances of the ease. The fact was that the Bank
hat not restricted its circulation in the least degree ; and with
re.. o' to the injurious effects of the Bank Bill upon that estab-
li,hment, he would also say that that measure had not as yet
corn- into full operation, and he was not, therefore, prepared
to say that any course would be adopted by her Majesty's Go--
vs.rtimeet with respect to the Bank of England. Now, how
cid the account actually stand? On the 29th of August ;the
tn,,unt, of bullion in the Bank was 16,366,000/.
The circulation at that time amounted to 20,426,0001.
On 'he 17th day of April last (the last day up to which the
r.eu ns had been made), the bullion in the Bank amounted to
9.329,4100 t, showing a decrease of 7,037,0001. What, how-
ever, had been the reduction in the circulation ? It would have
b ^en expected that there would have been a diminution to some.
thing like that amount. But instead of that, it appeared that
the cu- ciliation was 20,242,000 i., thus showing a decrease of
only 184,000/. Let the House take the facts as they find them,
ant do not let Hon. Members endeavour to increase an alarm
whirh unhappily exists by an exaggeration of the evils. Then,
again. with respect to the pressure upon the public, if the Hon.
Meinoers would look to the returns, they would find an enor-
mous increase in the " private securities " of the Bank, which
every ;:arson, acquainted with the subject, knew amounted to
an inc. ease of accommodation to the public. It had also
been very generally reported that a great pressure had
been etade by Government requiring assistance from the Bank.
Isow. by referring to the same dates, Hon. Members would see
that on the 29th of August the Government securities held in
the honking department of the Bank of England amounted to
12,9:i1,f,001., private secnri:iesl2,39s,ooo/. On the 17th of
April the Government securities bad fallen to 11,677,0001,
54,-,wing a diminution of 1,284,0001.; the private securities on
the same day amounted to 17,111,0001,, showing an increase
ov-T the amount held by the Bank on the 29th of August of
no less a sum than 4,716,0001., and on the 3d of April the
private securities in the Bank amounted to 18,627,000/.,
thus clearly showing an increased accommodation
g 'en to the public of a sum of no less than
between 5,000,000/. and -6,000,000%, while the Government
seeuroies have been diminished by at least 1,000,0001.
The Government Securities in the Bank had net been reduced
by the present year, as compared with last 284,0001. The follow-
ing was a statement of the Government Securities held by the
Bank in the present year :—On the 2d of Jan., 12,824,0001. ;
ou the 9th of April, 12,757,000/. ; on the 16th, 12,7a7,000/.
Compare that with the three correspondiz.g weeks in April,
the Securities were—on 3d April, 11,900,0001.; on the 10th,
13.534,1.001. ; and on the 17th, 11,677.0001. In 1846, on the
4th Az ril, the Securities held were 13,136,0001. ; on the 11th,
14,437,000/. ; and the 18th, 13,967,0001. ; so that, contrasting
ccrrespoadiag periods, the difference of the Government
',murales was only in the greatest difference 1,584,0001-, and
ja the least 284,0001. This would show that the Government
bad not acted in the manner described by the Noble Lord (the
Member for Lynn). What he rose principally to state was
that his Noble Friend opposite was quite incorrect in asserting
that tuere had been any diminution in the circulation of the
sank of England, or that there had been any diminution in
11;, system on which they carried on their private trade, by the
Zltvr-Titnent pressing on them for any assistance. Such was
‘" ease, and if the Bank had not got a larger
exacestis of it do. circulation than it had at present,
not
or from ths tarite from any want of knowledge
said this muchfaul, heoe negligence of the Government. Having
that he had eatisfaCete'lld ;conclude- his observations, tru,ting
the Noble Lord. only explained the case to the House and
Several members h
ere reee for
Bonse, and after some mutual the purpose of addressing the
Sir J. GRAHAM said that it wasc rubella that he rose for
prc.eisel y_ the same object
,thor Honourable Members to be 'had
_thought that
induced many
Lord the
the House. He ,the s
shat "Ibiiious to address
that the
after the latter part of the speech of the
moment,
Wernher for Lynn, it was indispensably
Chancellor of the Exchequer, without theta:lea or
should make the reply which he just made to the 1.;"
Inuit say, that he thought that the statement was remarkable
for its clearness and its perspicuity, and although it might notle
be in all respects so satisfactory as they could desire, he had no
d-uht Alt it would have its due effect in diminishing those ex-
aggerated alarms, which had arisen from a misapprehension.
lie had listened to that speech with the feelings wlikh he had just
expressed, but he thought it involved a most impoftant question.
which it was too late to discuss then, and which, in the pre-
sent sate of the monetary affairs of England, it became them
arefully to consider, not what were the wants of Ireland, but
what was the condition of England? When they were called
noon to borrow 660,0001.—f0r that was the• proposition—to
aseianee to the Irish railways after all the immense ad-
vances which the necessity of the case had compelled them to
snake to that country in the last few montbs—it was too im-
portani4 a question for them to discuss. lt,Was a question re-
qturing the most grave and serious conaiderktion of the House.
and be h.ped that the Chancellor of the Eichequer would con-
sent th.it they should now report progrriiiiid resume the con-
n of the subjeet at a future tithe.
Th. CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that he
wt perfectly willing to accede to all that his Right Hon.
`..:ist proposed.
_ _