The Sun.
London, England, 1847-12-01 00:00:00

that the inquiries of the Committee should be more con-
fined. As the motion then stood it would allow to the
consideration of the Committee any subject which any
Honourable Member might conceive to have been the
cause of the recent commercial crisis.—(Hear, bear.)
Now, if ho understood aright the object of the Go-
vernment and the desire of the country, the object
they had in this inquiry should be confined to the
one question of banking and currency. Perhaps there
never was a period when the question of banking and
the currency commanded such anxious attention as at
present. The variety of opinions held by those gentle-
men interested in the commerce and banking of the
country had been materially shaken within the last
month, and by no event more than by the necessity
under which the Government had found itself of inter-
fering with the Act of 1844. The step which had been
taken had induced in the public mind a want of confi-
dence in the existing law, and that impression would not
be removed until Parliament had thoroughly sifted the
subjeet, and definitively pronounced its decision. The
question which every man having commercial obligations
to undertake, and future transactions depending on those
obligations, was now asking himself was—ls the law of
1844 to be maintained in all its integrity? or, if not, is it
to be subjected to such modifications as the pressure of
circumstances may call for? or, in the the third plsoe, is
that Act to be abandoned altogether, and a new prin-
ciple set up? He believed that if these three questions
were not fully answered, Parliament would endeavour
in vain to restore that public confidence which existed
but three months ago. There were, however, other good
reasons why the attention of the Committee proposed
to be appointed should be confined strictly to the subject
of banking. Some Hon. Members might not be aware
of the position in which this question had been left in
1841 by the last Committee which had entered upon
similar inquiry. A Committee was appointed in 1840,
to inquire into banking and currency, in reference to
the operation of the Bank Charter Act, and the investi-
gation was without result, in consequence of the dissolu-
tion of Parliament in 1841. 01 that Committee the
Right Honourab e Baronet the Chancellor of the
Exchequer was the efficient chairman, and the
Right Honourable Baronet (Sir Robert Peel) an effi.
Giant member The Committee said it would be for
the House in the next session to determine whether an-
other Committee should be appointed, to whom all the
evidence should be referred for the purpose of framing a
report; but under the then existing circumstances they
considered they had only one course to pursue, to report
upon the evidence they had so far heard without ell
observation. Such was the conclusion of that long in'
vestigation of 1840, and from that day to this no further
inquiry had been instituted. Parliament proceeded to
legislate without seeking for any more information, and,
looking to the striking difference of opinion in evidence
taken before that Committee. and given on their respec-
tive sides by men of equal experience and intelligence on
the subject, he could not but conclude that Parliament
had not done all that was necessary, before the Act of
1544 was passed, in oreer to ascertain precisely those
principles upon which it would have been safe for
them to decide. —(Hear, hear.) The question harill
been left in that unfinished state was one of the he"
reasons why it should be taken up now by a C°lll.
raittee, which should be a Committee on banking only.
rTahlleypgrritamnitpelde
tohfan when theconvertibilitlyaswt
inquiry
as not now more gone'
and there was another question which hadwas suspended,been since
started and become popular, supported as it was by rellni
Members of that House. There were many gentlemen
who would now concede the necessity of a fixed standard
of value, and the necessity of the convertibility of n°l46
into that standard, yet there were others still uncone
vinced, who asked why there should be a fixed price of
gold. This question had been very generally taken up
through the country, and the attention which was o°,ll
paid to commercial topics caused it to be frequentl
discussed. If it were really attempted by that House
to fix the price of gold, or of any other commodity, he
would stigmatise it as a foolish and futile endeavour
and he thought that it had been sufficiently shows of!
late years how ineffectual it was for Parliament to seat
to regulate the price of corn or any other commercial
article.--(Hear.) When, therefore, it was inquired why
we fixed the price of gold at 31. 17s. 100. per ounce'
his simple reply would be, that in the ordinary
meaning of the term " price" we did net fix the eriellia_
all.—(Hear, hear.) He would answer that we only. de'
fined the division of certain amounts of solid gold Int
pieces, made into coins —t hat we merely determined th:
one ounce of gold should represent 31. 17s. lOid• towaeda
the fourth sovereign in coin. We no more attempted to
fix the price el gold by saying that an ounce shall coin
s
into so mach, than we sought to fix the price of wheat
n_
in enacting that invariably a quarter shall represent
eight bushels.—(Hear, hear.) Gentlemen might ill tuna
round and say, " You do fix the price of gold; it i.e.,
altogether a measurement, for you have two prices
the Mint price, 31. 17s. 10d., and the Bank price'
which is 31. I7s. 9d." This was true, but the word.
" price" %as again improperly applied. If a elle
of gold was taken to the Bank, 31. 17s. 9d. would
nu;
obtained for it per ounce, the remaining three halfpence
being charged for the time and trouble which would
be expended in converting the mass into coin.
rtonetehireeMd,inbtutthife
sfunillanp,rifcoer ofhie SoLwln7sn.
01nOrletiewninoteu:Sdb00
pre-
ferred going to the Bank, then ho would have
submit to pay those three halfpence on each °tine° In
being fully equivalent to the time which otherwise would
have to be sacrificed.—(Hear, hear.) The next question
to which the public miusd was becoming alive related t°
the usury• laws. It was not uncommon even in this dal
to hear gentlemen of some intelligence advocating a re'
eurrenceto the usury-laws ; but he was convinced that,
if the Committee which had been moved for was ap-
pointed, it would have to report upon the extreme incon-
venience of any portion of those laws being left in exist-
ence.—(Hear, hear.) He believed that there were many
lion. Gentlemen opposite (on the Opposition side) who
would now bear witness to the inconvenience which land-
lords had recently experienced in having retained what
they deemed a privilege to themselves, when they Ter'
five mitted merchants to pay more than per cent, for
their accommodation. Recently, too, inconvenience
had been felt in Scotland from the impossibility, o
r
rather, illegality, of borrowing money on heritable em
landlord'
might secu-
ritiesat tne current market price of money. There
it was true, modes of evading this law ; _nd
might carry a bill of exchange to a banker, e
procure discount at ten per cent, lodging_
a,
he-
ritable bonds as collateral sccurity.—(Hear,
But was this the way in which the Legislature sh
Iparloidceeded?contra'
be placed ?—(Hear, hear.) Nothing had more
partial
and
commercial Wasthis thi
interests
t ere position
st
s of in
be wdohoiucnh
country
e4gorue
should
buted to the alleviation of late distress h
irepeal
theirof trhee.
re-enactment,
elaws
he; and so
es
should repeal
Committee would be, that Parliament
whatever remnants remained—(Bear,
boasted
question which had engaged attention, and whichhor.t _
riteedv7cmerwoefwtdh;
weighty, was with reference to the double standard
of the support of a Noble Lord whosehesare
voefda:rtbfartotTa e
vised to be established. Nothing astonished
Wilson) more than to find men of sound knowledge monetary
h raj ny.octih ;re.
toftransactions
cot
ion acquaintanceadr oeati
nwith u o h
an commercial
exp edliiefne
teal
tri e
did not know in what way they would proposeere dis-
charge their obligations if a double standard :ow ,p_eart;
mitted. Had such a standard existed, no
.nr,eti
would at this moment have been so popular agaill t
notes is
Bank as that they had the privilege of paying
eitherust
an ofd
widethe cmoreom p
Ipreciousaint tthat
metals.tth the
anltk to
notes, and
purchasegold and silver at one period by issuing notes
c.
n_vt
to redeem those notes at another period in the
heann‘ 0.
metal it then happened to possess.—(liestTlan thajt they
thing, then, could be more conclusive
and so, he felt
must maintain their single standard whoaudld.thhearpeo Myer
assured, would the Committee
During the last season many
gentlemen
been loud in repro.,
the precious metals from abroad h
being
done them in e.ot
smiting the injury which was
of ressure, to convert
enabled, at particular periods p
silver into notes, and it was norelepruore;tutowhtoheirsHpooruteseds
position that the Bank should b a
bobliged td
on silver, although it might subsequent y e
or_
eared to him, however, Y
redeem them in gold. It ape w becoming l
low ed t
he
p icru lea rnpo rt
eo
e-
hich it
that in w
•
on any commodity whatever excepting
to
5at.....w
was bound to redeem them ; it was equivalent
unreasonable to ask the Bank of England to issue n°te"l
price of which might be subject to varia4
not think that the Legislature had ac their
that they should issue notes on any othte.rrist.reuciee
ds
id
in allowing the Bank to hold any peTt Ate.
notes en silver at the passing of the is.
No convenience was secured which wasnes likelY
, wee
an
afterwards to prove an inconvenience ; dat , the
clear that it would always be in the power 01
Bank to purchase gold with the silver thefdPth•
aessed with as much facility as they had proctlre 11.. of
silver Itself. When the Bank had sixteen mi to
gold in its possession it was no convenience whetter
tsirot
hold silver, and when its bullion was being drawn ou
the purpose of correcting the foreign exchanges, it v.l er 1
little convenience to retain any portion of that si 14,
the whole amount might just as well have been in.lrinie
There was, therefore, no reason why the Bank- shoo
hold any more silver than was required in the ordla
silver coinage. It was clear that whatever bullio.oewof
Bank had in its possession was so much abstructt ;fit
the capital of the Bank for that purpose, and be
capital might just as well, in the first instatleto e
invested in gold as in silver. And there was al;u07•0
reason why the recommendation of these gent_leinto
was unnecessary. The silver bullion which CSII3.
the country was more useful in the hand. of
,P.firlre"
merchants for the purpose of regulating eze"
than it would be if at the disposal of the Banteos,
quantity of silver was imported from South A
the importer, whether Rothschild or any other
_vet •
talist, made more use of the metal in correcting
for a
etoxchheantguersneodf tthoe
icronittinweenrtethpalnaewedouinldtbhee
Bank. It was also advised, in order that the_ork_rja
should have a greater power of correcting thee* r re;*•-•
exchanges, that it should hold a portion of the seeltois
of foreign states, the expectation being that In theftfer
Eellaairbs cotekil.
of an adverse exchange they would be able to ffrosts.
them, and so restore tho exchange to par. But i
argument as he had applied to the first Prellfosisiega
'soul(' demonstrate the inutility of this. Th'efee large
securities were held by capitalists here Id
r collo"
amount, and the first things that went out of
beforet.t
when tho exchanges were against us, long yeri ee.
bullion in the Bank was run upon, were these'
_lidual
curities, exported to meet the obligations °ls inaierrate
merchants, because the prices fell here to a be
than at Paris or Amsterdam. The less, inclees„esercial
thought, they made the Bank of England C °7O single
establishmeet, the more they confined it to ieneed
objects of banking, and the more strictly theYe boo
those objects as of a purely internal onsuriesall
character, the more simple would the =ln
wore 411.'
of that institution become, and the its ope'
tain would it eventually prove to be
generallm sob'
rations.--(Hear, hear.) But beyond these ivid or
jects of inquiry it appeared to him that Wil"