The Sun.
London, England, 1848-02-18 00:00:00

Bank to be complained of. The Chancellor of the Ex -
chequer, on the other hand, had decidedly made very
great mistakes, and it was now quite time that he made
up his mind as to what he meant to do, and as to the
principles on which he would act in future. For his own
part, he (Mr. Hudson) thought the Bank ought to have
almost unlimited power of issue, always, of course, pre-
serving the convertibility of the note.
Mr. MACGREGOR, representing a large and most
important constituency, felt it to be his duty not to give
a silent vote. lie was compelled to consider that the
Bank Charter Act of 1844 was not an Act adapted to
the wants of a great commercial country. He believed
it was as impossible for Parliament to regulate the price
of money as to regulate the expansion or contraction of
the mercury in the barometer. He knew no parts of
the world for which the Act was calculated, except a
village in Holland, where the population had not in-
creased for the last 600 years, and where no young
couples married until their fathers and mothers died.—
(Laughter.) It was all very well to attribute the panic
to over-speculation. But was it possible to carry on the
commerce of the country without speculation? He had
heard it said that the great houses which failed during
the panic were unsound. When he consi,lcred the ra-
mifications, the engagements, the enterprise of those
houses, he lamented to hear such observations made. In
his opinion, it was most necessary that Parliament
should deliberately, but speedily, settle the subject. He
believed the Act of 1844 was one in which the country
had no confidence. For some time to come it might be
of very little consequence whether the operation of that
Act was limited or net; but, at some future time, the
measure would be assuredly of the greatest national im-
portance. So much with regard to England. With
respect to Scotland, he thought the operation of the Act
f 1844 was universally complained of iu that country.
L
If it had not been for the Scotch banking system, the
prosperity of the British Isles would never Lave risen
to its present height. flu condemned the alteration
in Coto.

Mr. MASTERMAN trusted that the House would
adopt his Right lion. Friend's motion, He had, in
1844. strongly insisted upon the Government retaining
a discretionary power, and experience had since demon-
strated the necessity of such a provision.
Mr. HUME considered it essential that some distinct
inquiry should bo made as to the reason why these
monetary panics were constantly recurring in this coun-
try, in a manner quite unknown elsewhere. He had
objected to the Government Committee, because he fore-
saw that Its appointment would be made the excuse for
such an answer as that of the Right I-lon. Baronet to
such a proposition as that. now before the House.—
(Hear, hear.) The Right lion. Baronet had talked of a
foolish judge, who first decided and then inquired. It
appeared to him that the Government, in the matter of
the Bank Act suspension letter, bad been precisely this
foolish judge, fur it was admitted that it had acted with-
out any previous inquiry. He had said on a former
occasion that 150,000,000/. had been lost by the recent
operation of the Bauk Act; but, in point of fact, the
actual loss sustained was quite incalculable.— (Hear.)
The conduct of the Government in seeking to mule a
discussion of its measures in relation to the Act of 1844,
by referring the matter to a Select Committe, was most
reprehensible.—(Hear, hear.) The feeling of the Ilouse
on the subject, however, seemed pretty clear. Every
gentleman who had spoken that night on the subject,
with the sole exception of the Right Hon. Baronet, had
declared that the measure of 1844 had wholly failed in
its professed objects.—(Hear, hear.) There seemed to
be, in the House as well as out of it, a decided convic-
tion that the Act ought to be repealed. It was out of
the question to suppose that the country would submit
to continue exposed to such jeopardy as that to which
the Act of '44 subjected it.—(hear.) The result of that
measure was only another proof of the fact, that what-
ever branch of business in this country was protected,
fostered and hedged round by monopoly, was always
involved in disasters. The East and West India inte-
rests, the shipping interest, the silk trade, were all proofs
of the same proposition. He attributed the whole of our
late distresses—and we had nut yet seen the worst, he
feared—to the circumstance of the currency having
been placed on a false basis of protection and mo-
nopoly. No paltry attempts merely to palliate the
evil would avail. The mischief must wholly
be eradicated.—(Cries of " Hear, hear.") There was one
feature in the Act of 1844, of which he approved, that
which established a fixed standard ; but all attempts to
restrict the circulation of the country, to shackle the
means by which commercial transactions were carried
on, must be utter failures.—(hear, hear.) He wished
the Right lion. Gentleman opposite had come forward
at once with a motion to repeal the Act; but if the mo-
tion he proposed were adopted, it would lead to repeal.
—(Hear, hear.) The letter of the Government to tho
Bank directors manifested very clearly the opinion of
the Government that the measure could not stand.—
(Hear, hear.) It was on the face of the thing absurd,
that with the increasing commerce of this country there
should be laws to limit the means by which commerce
was conducted.—(Hear, hear.) As to the Act relating
to Scotland, he had never heard of any man connected
with Scotland who did not denounce it as most mis-
chievous. What had been the practical effect of the
measure upon the immediate circulation in that
country ? In 18.42 3 the average of gold in the
Scottish banks was 428,6431. ; in 1846-7 that
average was 1,119,000/., being an increase of nearly
800,0'.)01 ; and representing the average amount to
which the banks found themselves compelled by the Act
to refuse to trade the accommodatiou essential to its
conduct. What was the average of notes in circulation
at the s-snse period-? In the former period, 2,700,000/.
in the I itter, 3,325,0001. 11.2 dhl not blame the direc-
tors of the banks, who had a most diffialli, task to per-
form. Tl.e blame lay with those ho imposed these
difficu!ti,-s upon then..
Colonel TtIO3IP6ON supported the trio•fon. The Act
of 1844 was u measure for fending oil' all such demands
for aid for traders as should pass beyond a certain rule
NI Inch Government con.idered to mar: the limit of dis-
cretion. The question was, a hether this rule had been
established as proving the preconceived discretion, or
whether it was a rule which, as being indiscreet, should
be set aside, lie had heard it said that the coact scion
made by the Government in October ..vas a virtual con-
cession of the fallacy of the Act. lie did not adopt this
proposition as a necessary consequence, for the Govern-
ment might have been induced by the cry for assistance.
Mr. MUNTZ reminded the House that there had been
panics before the one of last year, and that they could
not be attributed to the Bank Act of 1844. In fact, when
the occurrences of October, 1847, were ascribed to the
operations of the Right lion. Baronet's (Sir R. Peel's)
Banking Act, those who did so committed a gross
blunder. The Government certaiuly had no right to
meddle with banks, either public or private; and as long
as that interference existed he feared he should see con-
tinual crashes in the money market. The whole of the
cause, and the only cause, of the monetary panics was
that the theory upon which the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer and the Right lion. Baronet opposite based their
system was wrong. The theory to which he referred
was that which supposed there was such a thing as a
standard of value. There was no such standard; and
the sooner that false and erroneous system was abolished
the better. If the Bill of 1844 was repealed the evil
would still remain in full force. As long as the standard
of value system eas adhered to, the country would ex-
perience panics and be exposed to all the misery result-
ing from such a state of things. He felt perfectly satis-
fied he was right upon this sul.jec:; and the Right Hon.
Gentleman opposite (Mr. 'Terries) must not flatter him-
self he would remove the causes of distress by repealing
the Act of 1844. It was nut that Act which had occa-
sioned the mischief. It was the Bill of 1819.—(A laugh.)
He would, however, vote for the motion before the House,
because he deprecated a liar Which was nullified the mo-
ment it came into operation, as the Bank Act of 1844
had been by the letter addressed by the Government to
the Bank of England in last October.
Mr. LABOLTUIIIiIIE said that the Right Hon. Gen-
tleman opposite had urged on the House not to allow
itself to be drawn into a general argument upon the
subject of his motion, as there was much danger, owing
to the nature of the subject, that lion. Members would
stray (ruin the immediat, question before the House. lie
should endeavour to follow the Right lion. Gentleman's
injunction in ()tiering his reasons to the House for not
giving its assent to the proposal. One thing had been
universally admitted by nearly all the speakers—
namely, that if the motion were agreed to, the decision
would reverse that which appointed a Committee to in-
quire into the monetary question —(No, no.) He heard
it doubted that such would be the virtual effect of
the motion being carried, but he must again affirm
that the fact had been candidly admitted by all who had
spoken on the motion that evening. By the appoint-
ment of the Committee the Government had en-
tered into an agreement with the monetary interests
to consider maturely the laws which affected
the whole question, and he was not prepared to say
that atter the subject had been fully examined the law
might not be relaxed. The only effect which the motion
would have would be to unsettle the public mind as to
the results of the Committee. Some Honourable Member
had said that the law stood condemned by all, and by
the Government in particular, by whom some of its
provisions had been suspended. He must beg to deny
the truth of that proposition. he denied that the sus-
pension of the Act for a temporary purpose was con-
demnatory of the measure. There must exist la power
of relaxing the laws upon great emergencies, but that
did nut tend to prove the law to be a bad one. He did
not mean to say that it might not be found necessary tot
modify the law, but ho must affirm that suspending late
panic nut condemnation. He could not speak of the
o
panic without feeling great commiseration fortoseh
had suffered by it. But the Act of 1844 was nethirr,had
acces-
sory to that panic.—(hear, hear.) Something
been said about over-speculation b
the principal causes, and blame hada" nbeencastmbeen o nupon
mtut;st
upoolaoserevxeitmthinat.
thheosesheu
whoid feel
ld
tot
c;
surprised,
r ihs
eed
ing into the circumstances attending the late
crisis, those engaged in the importing trade were ac-
quitted of having entered into rash speculations, which
had c itieed much of the Isle distress, After the length-
ened discussion of that evening he would not trespass
further on the time of the House than to express his
hope that they would not reverse their former decision,
by which a Committee was appointed to extmine into
the monetary state of the country. It might be said
that Committees were all a farce, but he reminded the
House that no great changes had ever been made is
the monetary laws althout the previous inquiry and re-
port of a Committee.---(Cries of " Divide. ')
Mr. HERRIES would only offer a few words in reply
to the observations of the Right Hon. Gentleman. He had
Lever before witnessed a debate, the speakers on which,
with some exceptiens. were ell on one side of the ques-
tion. Amongst all parties there was a growing feel-
ing that the Act of 1544 ought to bo repealed.
The only objection of any weight against his motion was
that there was a Committee sitting on the subject up
stairs, and that the House ought not to prejudge the
question. But there were many topics which were not
to come wider the consideration of that Committee 3