The Sun.
London, England, 1833-08-10 00:00:00

einiclusion, the Hon. Member expressed his approbation of
the propelsl to postpone the question till next session.
Mr. ROBINSON said that the House had before it only
a choice of difficulties, and under such circumstances,
looking at the me +sure as a whole, he thought the Govern-
ment arrangement likely to he satisfactory to the country
at large. The object of the Noble Lord was to establish
a paper circulation as free from objection as possible, and
the present plan appeared calculated to effrct that purpose.
He denied that the panic of 1825 was attributable to the
mismanagement of the Bank, and saw no reason to
apprehend ill consequences from the system, as proposed
with respect to Bank of England notes ; but he should
view with alarm an unlimited issue of paper money by
irresponsible parties. He did not mean to assert that the
Government plan was free from objection, but he thought
it preferable to that free trade in banking suggested by
its opponents, and should thorefore vote for going into
Committee.
Mr. CORBETT said that his hostility to the Bill and
his approbation of the amendment depended entirely upon
the single clause by which Bank of England notes were
made a legal tender.
Sir H. WILLOUGHBY would support the motion of
the lion. Member for Derby, but on sornewli it different
grOunds. Though he agreed with the Right Honourable
lislem.`er for Dundee, that the inquiry of the Bank Com-
mittee List year was ex-parte, and that further inquiry
was very desirable, he could not, however, think the
question before the House was, whether there should he
one hank of i-sue t;r many rival banks of issue. He would
concede there should be but one hank of issue, hut some
efficient control was required over that bank. Publicity
under the Act would only inform the public of mischiefs
incurred. There was no preventive remedy; the evil
would he done, and the public would learn its nature and
extent only when it was irremediable. The act este-
Wished a legal tender; under this provision any alterations
in the amount of B trik paper would he felt in the remotest
parts of the country; ever] country bank of issue would
be affected. Surely some express control on the part of
the public o'er the exercise of such a power should lie
provided. The Noble Lord (Althorn) had rightly said the
principle of the bank of issue should be to attain the minimum
of fluctuation. He agreed to that position. It had been
said the Bank never acted on the public, but the public
was allowed to act on the Bank. But was the public
always right? Did not the Noble Lord admit the occur-
rence of speculative demands? It might he the interests
of the Bark to supply such demands, while that of the
country might he the reverse, with a view to avoid those
expansi ne and contractions which had so often proved the
source of every evil a bed syitem of paper issues could
inflict on a nation, and which this nation had so much
season from extierience to deprecate.
Mr. T. ATTWOOD denied that the Bank was blame-
able for the stoppages of 1797 and 1825, as the Right
lion. Member for Dundee appeared to suppose, and argued
that the Bank had been merely the instrument of exe-
cuting the existing law. In 1797, the stoppage was oc-
casioned by the demand for 90,000 0001 of gold and
*flyer currency, to me.t the withdrawal of assignats in
France ; and the crisis of 1825 had its origin in the Bill
of 1819, followed as it was by Lord Castlereagh's five
ineasures of 1823. Of the Bill of ISI9 he could not
:peek in terms sufficiently expressive of his disapprobation.
The measures of 1322 were well intended, their object
being to relieve the agricultural and commercial interests,
an object which was at least part,allv rffecred. Hence
the prosperity of 1823, 1821. and 1825 In the latter
year the exchanges turned against tie, and gold was ex-
ported in immense quantities, 8.000,000/. having been
entered at the Custom House, independently of what was
sent away without such notice. In consequence of this
state of things, which had arisen out of increased paper
ieeuee, the ;tan's occurred, et hich, however. the Bank did
every thing in its power to guard against and lessen. Had
it not been for the moral firmneea of the Bank in meeting
the cr:sis, and throwing out its notes into circulation on
that occasion, we should have witnessed a catastrophe
which lie would not attempt to describe. The Right Hon.
Member for Dundee had said the banking system was
much improved since 1826, hut in this he maintained
that the Right Hon. Baronet was mistaken. The old
system had been impaired and undermined, without sub-
stituting for it anything satisfactory. The old banks, both
in London and the country, had one fault—a sordid anti
servile devotion to men in power: that was bad enough;
but the joint-stock banks, which it was proposed to esta-
blish, would he seven-fold more the tools.of the Govern-
ment of the day, because they would all be under the sur-
veillance of the Bank of England and entirely dependent
on it, and that establishment was under the immediate
control of Government, so that the Government would
in•truct the Bank of England as they pleased, the Bank
would instruct the branch banks, the branch banks would
instruct the joint-stock banks, the joint stock banks would
instruct every one of their partners, the partners weold
instruct their d• btors, and all over whom they had in-
rluerce, and the people of England would have to rue the
day in which such a system of influence was established.
The Hon. Member read some extracts from an American
publication censuring the joint-stock banks of the United
States, and protested against any further extension of the
system in this country. With respect to the charge
brought against county bankers of forcing their notes into
circulation, he altogether denied its justice, and observed
that the adoption of such a course would impair the credit
of any banker who attempted it; at the same time that the
immediate object of forcing his paper into circulation
would be defeated. It had been said that there was no panic
in Scotland in 1825, but that was not to be ascribed to the
confidence inspired by joint-stork banks. It was forgotten
that there were no sovereigns in Scotland in 1825, and
that guineas had not been seen there for the last 100 years,
except as whist-markers on some dowager's card-table. Iu
short, there being no gold circulation in that country, the
exportation of the precious metals could not affect it. The
drain of gold from England was no inconvenience to
Scotland ; and therefore the subtraction of sovereigns
aureld not occasion a panic. The leaders of all parties,
Whigs-, Tories, and Radicals, had joined in a most mortal
war agaio,t a principle of vital importance to the interests
of the ennui: unity generally—he alluded to the paper cur-
rency, which had been sent to the wall ; the Hon. Mem-
ber for Oldham bad also joined in the warfare, and had
advocated the abolition of the system ; but be (Mr. Att.
wood) had anticipated what would be the result, and some
years ago, in a letter which he addressed to Lord Sid-
mouth, had warned the Government " not to fall into the
snare like the bird into the net of a fowler." He was
now even still more convinced that the sooner Government
paper was adopted the better it would be for the country.
He did not object to making Bank of England notes a
legal tender, but he wished also that Government notes
should be so ; and though he would not give the Go-
vernment powers to issue millions of such paper, yet
he would have them put as much in circulation as
would keep the people ir. full employ, anti mike them
happy and prosperous. Ile would have the Government
to make the condition of the working and industrious
glasses as their guide, and not look only to the in-
e,erests of the fundholder, the pl icemen, and the pensioners.
Let the Government in legislating, upon this important
enbient regard well the int- rests of the productive classes
—the ht: nest labourers. He hoped the Noble Lord would
see the henseAt that to ould arise from the establishment of
uatiks of issue in London. He (Mr. Attwood) admitted
that hanks of depos:t in London would he an evil. He
supported most cordially the :notion for going into Corn-
Mi tee upon the Bill, wilieh had already been delayed suf-
ficiently lung. He bad attended to this very important
subject for the last 20 years, and biz opinion, after much
coneuteration was, that the interests of tt)i4 great nation
would not be sate if the question should be suffered to go
over to another session ; it the House consented to a
postponement, it would compromise the interests of this
great community.—(Qtrestion, question.)
Mr. CLAY rose amidst general cries of " Question,"
but gave way to the feeling wanitested by the House,
The gallery was then cleared and the House divided,
when the numbers appeared—
For the amendment
Against it
Majority against the postponement
Oct our re .adinisai“n into the gallery we found theilouse
in Committee on the Bill.
Clause 1 was put, and agreed to, without any obser-

vation.
On its being proposed in eiause 2, which provides that
no banking company of more th,in six persons shall issue
notes payable on demand in London, or within
„piles
of it, to fill up the blank with the words of six•y•five,
Mr. CLAY said that he had given notice of his inten-
tion to move an amendment upon this clause, but as be
had reason to believe the Noble Lord had some explanation
to make as to the intentions or Iris Majesty's Government,
lie hoped the Noble Loid would make that communica-
tion now, in order to enable him to decide whether it
would be necessary for him to press his motion,
Lord ALTHOIW raid that, in the first place, it ws.s
not, nor had it been the intention of his Majesty's Govern-
ment to make any alteration in the privileges of the Bank
of England, with one exception onlv ; neither had it been
intended to diminish those privileges which at present
existed with respect to exclusive banking. The alteration
which was proposed w‘s to do away that restriction,
prevent joint-stock bulbs, consisting of more than sits
partners, and estat,lisheo at a greaser distance than 65
males, trout issuing notes payable on demand in London,
or from thawing bills on London under ha it bad been