The Sun.
London, England, 1857-12-05 00:00:00

issue, and the relations between the Government and the
Lank; for if that was done, in the first place you would
Postpone every attempt at that useful legislation for
which the country was now ripe, and, at the same time,
stifle inquiry into the commercial causes of the present
which was a worthy and a necessary subject of
til:citiliirY by aal committee. ear ) That was the represen-
tationh e wished to make to his right hon. friend arid
the house; and he hoped .hat he had not made it in any
the spirit than that of a desire that they should seize
oPportunity of converting a public difficulty and dis-
aster into a public advantage and a permanent settlement
o,f, this question. (Hear.) Would it not be an immense
ausantage to a government desirous of settling a great
question to be able to take it up at a moment
: ,
was
the mind of the country was alive to its import-
-Ice) and was ready to give its assistance in the task .
as it not often found to he a hopeless task by a public
lan to stir up and animate the public mind on a pros-
t
:It
ier' of which he knew the importance ! As an instance
oVci an illustration of that tendency, let it be remembered
w alaily gentlemen it was found possible a year aeo
to bring together to listen to an Indian debate. (Hear.)
.4" now, because we were smarting of
-ieftineercial crisis, should we pestpone the c snsidora-
ttele of a question connected with it until the public
-"lilt' had relapsed into apathy and lassitude ? On the
Contrary, this was the time when we ought to deal with
that part of the question which related to issue, and
-50 Parliament had given a definite judgment with
Nerd to the laws of issue, then they would be in a
Position to deal with the laws of banking, for it was by
nsie
fri big up those two questions that you constituted a
ftiltful difficulty in the way of finding an entrance into
the minds of men for that common sense principle by
Which they should be guided in dealing with a subject
;Ike this. If he made one observation more, he hoped
iarl should not offend any of those gentlemen from Scot-
ad whom he saw around him. So far as regarded the
oe
Preaed question of a check to the circulation of
Bank notes in Scotland and even in Ireland, he (Mr.
Gladstone) never expected to live to see the day when
4-arliament would be in such a position as to have such
an advantage in the dealing with that question as it now
Possessed • He saw his right hon. friend the First Lord
ei the Admiralty looking at him, and ho was confident
that his hon. friend agreed with' him, when it had oc-
riled that two millions of gold had been sent to Scot-
and to enable the banks to meet their securities instead
° their fh
:t giving gold for them out of their coffers. This
blight be very satisfactory to them, but he hoped that
the intellect of England was not so far in the background
as not to be able to understand at whose expense it was
cione• (" Hear, hear," and cheers.) No doubt lit was a
Cheap system of circulation for Scotland, as it was a
aPsYstem of living for a private individual if he could
always get his friends to pay his debts. (" Hear, hear,'
and
L laughter.) But he could net assume that in 1859
Public mind would be in a favourable condition for
the consideration of this question. We had coming
upon us and in prospective a question of the most gigare
tic character, and one which was, owing to the unpre-
Paredness of our minds with regard to it, perhaps the
t4.oat appalling which, as a public man, he could remora-
err- It was a question of the manner in which we were
'0 deal with 200,000,000 of men of anotaer race and
religion—an ancient nation, which we seemed to think
We could treat as so many figures of wax, but a nation
,w.hich had got its own habits and manners, its own
alstory, its own civilisation, but with regard to
ithieli we seemed to think that we had only to
walk into the country and leave it to the exhibition
aIY of the properties and qualities of the Anglo-Saxon
.bo Settle all difficulties. (Hear, hear.) He thought that
even in 1859 we might not have settled that question.
ear, hear.) Great changes were to be looked for in
thetcl _ management of East Indian affairs, and let us not be
o sure that when we were in the midst of the conside-
t ron of that gigantic question, it would be easy to turn
were
Public imind to the question whether Scotch banks
de to support their circulation by means obtained from
° land (Hear, hear.) There could not be much
`4oubt that Parliament was now competent to entertain
question, but if it was referred to examination by a
'llieCTlnission that it would only cause the letting slip a
141°11 opportunity for the consideration of, at least, one
"of the subject, and he was sure that by referring
~.."° questions to an overburdened committee, the result
owe,ld be the postponement of the completion of the act
„;_10844 by legislation on the laws relating to issue, and
711. the postponing, the perplexine, and the confusion of
se," 14 laquiwhich
re mo was essential to"be instituted into the
.rmal causes of the recent panic, and he grieved to
the present embarrassment. (Loud cheers.)
Mr. SPOONER said that be could assure his right
'l°,ll. friend that if he was a member of the present com-
mittee he would not go into it with a view to propound
tee
own plans, but solely with a desire that the commit-
,'" should first inquire into the causes of the present die-
ese. He agreed that if they went into an inquiry into
subject in the old way there would be no end of it.
With reference to the existing state of things he would
mention that a witness, who was admitted by every one
;‘) he of a high authority (he meant Lord 0 terstone) was
~'ruined before the committee this year, and at the end
14 en essay which hedelivered in answer to a question, the
noble
lord stated, in reference to the act of 1844, " that
the strict and prompt adherence to the principles of
that act everything had passed off- with regularity and
Zie;OUr monetary system was unshaken, the prosperity of
ins country was undisputed, and such was the confidence
etrteuhe wisdom of the act of 1844 that it was daily gaining
fts_rgth. ; that if a practical illustration of the soundness of
inerples and its beneficial results was wanted itwas only
le
of
the,
esary to look around at the present state of the trade
tent in Country, the prosperity of the revenue, the con-
owe eat of the people, the wealth that pervaded every
ett ' and having done so, the committee might be called
of ar Say If they would interfere with the continuance
Spoon which had produced such results." He (Mr.
lord . Ql,) Would reverse the question, and ask the noble
*la' 6 100 k now at the exactly contrary state of things
I,ettan asisted,and thee to say whether Parliament ought
abeiitlbe ready, not merely to interfere with, but to
ha 118 h an.act which had proved to be a delusion, which
he Not carried out the expectations of its framers, and
au not received the confidence of the public. The
danger had not yet passed, it had hardly begun, and
:Oat would be done when numbers of persons were
thrown out of employment I The Act of 1844 could
never be amended ; it was wrong in principle and in
Prentice and must be abolished. The Act of 1819 had
never heen frilly carried out, and it never could have
Whenever it was put in full operation it was
ounce necessary to relax it on account of the commercial
!distress it produced. Any prosperity which existed in
the country would be hollow until the currency was
Put on a proper footing. Look to the year 1825. In
the King's speech in February of that year, and in a
tatement of the then Chancellor of the Exchequer,
great boast was made of the prosperity of the country,
tad that statement was repeated in July at the time of
01.1 prorogation, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer
d Mr. Brougham, who had given notice of a motion
ra reform in Parliament, that all 'this prosperity had
tue, dispensed through the portals of our ancient insti-
ll 'lens to a just and generous people. In January, 1836,
Qwever, he came down to the house and deplored the
**retched state of every interest in the country, and was
Y able to account' for it by the imprudence of some
clu,atrY bankers. Panic had succeeded panic, but almost
and en° had been preceded by a declaration of great
ectroplete prosperity. The act of 1819 had never
et,i.carried out ; and Mr. Horner, in 1810, warned
tianlameat that if they went on in the way in which
317,,Ye_were
_proceeding, and as they afterwards did, they
L would be able to return to a sound state of cur-
P
a
na
yd in this country. In 1810-11 a resolution was
c h had the support of the noble lord now at
theo head of the GovernMent; declaring that a one-pound
:ate an,d a shilling were for all legal purposes the same
to% gains and that resolution was passed in opposition
motion, the effect of which wasthat the depreciation
th ~Lt ht to be marked and arrested, Mr. Horner declaring
if it was not then arrested, it would be impossible
arrest it. What was done I The national debt was
tinder 400,000,0001., and there was a depreciation of 15
alitrac,e,nt. The debt went on increasing to 800,000,000/ ,
sti,;" wie depreciation reached 30 per cent. Mr. Henry
qatrntoil, who differed both from Mr. Horner and the
aibefirtntnent, expressed a doubt whether it would be pos-
-0 return to the national standard of value. The
carreo
bey cY had never been restored to that standard, and
bee" would be restored to it. The attempts which had
Ix: Made to grant relief had only been successful for the
th °lent. They had eventually aggravated the evil, and
.„„tla affairs would go on until a panic would arise which
;ald break up the whole social system. It was neces-
hr, to reconsider the whole subject for the purpose of
44°irig the mischief caused by the not of 1819. The
iaentry had never had a practical currency redeemable
:ll gold, and never would have one sufficient to carry on
i
eonamercial enterprise of the country. Out of the
a'.°,_°o.oool issued by the Bank of England in notes, all
them on their face payable in gold, 14,500,0001. were
iWued Ott securities, but still they were said to be payable
go,ld. It might be said that it would never be de-
evealaued. But that was the principle laid down. It
o'4 a fraud upon the very face of it, and a system of
leethr,entcY Which could not justly be maintained. The
tib-e-57,,"°11. gentleman (Mr. Gladstone) was of opinion
the act of 1844 bad worked well in regulating the
to Of exa:hange, but a discount of 13 per cent. could
tto Lie ealted a payment in gold. The practical point
•on lnquire into was how far the act of 1844 had assisted
Caerflirit' out the act of 1819. (Hear, hear.) What
R 8 " rause of the present distress 1 It had been
Said that it arose from over-issue and over-trading
that ordain joint-stock banks bad entered into
arrangements of too large a nature—and that the
ectifidencei of the people had been thus shaken. No one
e?ald juseify the conduct of some of there banks, but
the
system must be bad if a want of prudence in the
rnae
--agein But of a few such institutions could lead to a
,„"ant of co nfidence throughout the whole community.
4"
act of 1844 compelled the Bank of England to buy
gold *bather it was wanted or not, and to issue notes
whether they were wanted or not. The effect of that
11Yost,eus had been to reduce the rate of interest to 2 per
voin''' aud consequently to force capital into all sorts
'which Iforeign investments and wild speculations, ninny (
turned out to be worthless, and the re‘ult was
nothing but distress and misery. lie believed all our
hPresent evils were attributable to the state of our mone-
fry la•w, and that great benefit would arise from the
oPoirrtment of a committee to consider the best mode
rauttedying those evils. With regard to the bill now
tmcint consideration, he gave it his full and complete
peurrenee, and be believed that the Government had
tine their duty in endeavouring to put a stop to the
ts.moulties which had arisen. But he warned them that
rhge.Y had not done enough, and that if they left matters
dlliftallcY now stood they would hereafter have still greater
2_, pUltiel to encounter. They ought to look into the
o:_°Ject epeedily, without a desire to support any pre-
lecceived uotions or to press forward any special theory.
had been accused of belonging to that scchool which
tUvocated an unlimited inconvertible currency. Now,
we had never given his support to any such views. He
ita in favour of a limits and would fix that limit at the