The Sun.
London, England, 1844-06-14 00:00:00

he said that he issued a warrant against one o
the individuals that was not now in existence
and it could have only reference to one letter. If trea-
son was suspected the Government could only act on in-
formation—that :information would be on a . par-
ticular day or hour such a letter would pass
through the Post-office. On that day it would
be found there, and that was the only power given
by the Act. This was .a matter of great consideration,
and it therefore should be deeply considered.
Mr. CHRISTIE said that the Right Hon. Gentleman
had on one occasion stag d that he was three years in
the Home-office, and during those three years he had
expended but a trifling amount of secret service money.
He could now account for that in conse •
pence of the system of espionage which was
adopted. He wished to know from the Right Hon. Ba-
ronet, whether having:stated that he had issued a warrant
with respect to one individual, he had issued warrants
against others, not slating names, and in how many
cases.

Mr. WALLACE explainen.
Mr. DUNCOMBE said, that as he had no other way
of.obtaining the opinion of the House upon this very
dirty transaction, upon which all explanation was re-
fused, he should divide the House upon the motion.
The gallery was then cleared, but the motion for ad-
jourment was negatived without division, it being under-
stood that Mr. Duncombe would bring on the sub!ect on
a future occasion, on going into Committee of Supply.
(LEFT SITTING.)

Dr. Spry had an interview with Mr. Gladstone yesterday,
at the office of the Board of Trade.

IMPEItAAL PA KLIAM.BNT.

ROUSE OF COMMONS. June 13.
BANK CHARTER BILL.
Mr. HAWES (in continuation) said—
There was no man who wished to adhere more strictly
to the principle of a metallic currency, with a paper cur-
rency convertible at will than Mr. Tooke. For himself,
he stood by the Act of 1819. He thought no case had
been made cut for any further interference with that
Act. No case of excessive issue had been sheen.
An Hon. Friend of his, who had written on the subject,
was a warm supporter of the plan of the Right llon.
Baronet. That Hon. Gentleman had Alluded to the
assistance afforded by the Bank in the year 1839, and
had quoted that as an instance of increased circulation
and of increased amount of accommodation to the
public. Now the fact was, that it was rather a decrease
of accommodation to the public. The advance upon se-
curities had been increased certainly, from 9,600,0001. to
12,700,00 W., showing an increase of 3,000,0001, but
that increase had, in fact, been a mere transfer to pri-
vate securities from the bill department. The discount
had been reduced to 3,400,000/., from 8,500,0001., so that
there was actually a decrease of accommodation to the pub
lie. By the present plan it was intended to attempt to
lessen speculation ; this it was impossible to- accomplish;
and when, under the proposed system, the pressure
did come, it would produce a most violent action on the
public credit. What had occurred in 1825 and 1839
was nothing to what must occur under this system. If
this plan were adopted a pressure would be produced
upon securities which must produce a pressure upon de-
posits, which would necessarily counteract the action of
the Bank upon securities. 'lle Bank must necessarily
make a sale of its securities in order to get back its
bullion, and thus create a greater degree of pressure
on the money market than existed before. The Bank
would thus, in the event of such a crisis occurring as had
occurred in 1825, be placed in a much more perilous
position than it ever yet had been placed. The Right
Hon. Gentleman was a great advocate of the corn-laws;
now if he adhered to this strict management of the cir-
culation—if they were to have no expansion—how could
they possibly maintain the corn-laws ?He would say
to the country gentlemen, that if this system of banking
was adopted it would create such a sense of the injus-
tice of the corn-laws, that it would be impossible to con-
tinue them. He was sure that the alterht on in the cur-
rency laws proposed by the Right Hon. Baronet would
inevitably lead to the repeal of the corn-laws ; and it
ought to do so.—(Cheers.) The only unnatural cause
operating to disturb the circulation was the corn-laws.
The trade in corn, under the present system, was neces-
sarily a speculating trade. It was impossible to foresee
or to provide for contingencies. Whenever there was a
large import, as at present, the payment for that import
must be provided for by bullion ; and the moment the
amount of bullion in the Bank coffers was reduced, the
Bank would reduce its advances upon securities. As
long, therefore, as the corn-laws remained, they would
retain one great cause •of the disturbance of the cur-
rency, and that would be an additional reason for press-
ing for the repeal of the corn-laws. He objec:ed to
anything that tended to connect the trade of banking
with the State, and therefore he objected to the esta-
blishment of one single bank of issue. At present bank-
ing was unconnected with politics. No one inquired whe-
ther a bank director was a Whig or a Tory, but if they
established a single bank of issue it would give such
power to the State that party politics would become con-
nected with questions.of banking, which could not fail to
produce a most injurious effect. He, therefore, protested
against the establishment of a single bank of issue. lie
did not think that the plan would work well ; and in the
City of London he believed that there were many who
concurred in that opinion. He understood that thirty
London bankers had written to the Right Hon. Baronet,
pointing out what they conceived to be objections—and
objections which, according to the scheme he had laid
down, be would be unable to meet. In the country, too,
the bankers entertained great objections to it. On these
grounds, then, and relying on the Act of 1819, he
thought the Right Hon. Gentleman had not made out a
case for further interfsrence, and he should therefore
conclude by simply making his motion.
Mr. HASTIE seconded the motion. He agreed with
the principles the Hon. Gentleman had laid down, that
all promissory notes ought to be convertible, on demand,
into gold. With that provision, he thought there was
no danger of over-issue on the part of the country banks.
The whole object of the present Bill was to prevent those
panics which had given such a shock to the trade of this
country since 1825, Now, in the first place, they had
not taken proper pains to ascertain the causes of these
panics, and he felt bound to declare it as his opinion that
the Bill of the Right Hon. Gentleman contained more
elements-of panic than any preceding one.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was not
prepared, when he received the notice given by the
Honourable Gentleman, to hear such objections as
those which he had urged in his speech. Enter-
taining the opinions he did, the Honourable Gentleman
should have moved for the total rejection of the Bill, fur
that would have - been the more manly and consistent
course. The Hon. Member approved of sound prin-
ciples, and admitted that the Bill contained some, but
studiously resisted the putting of them into operation.
The Hon. Member agreed in the principle on which the
report of the Bullion Committee was founded, but
thought its recommendations were injudicious. The
Hon. Gentleman attempted to prove, from the price of
sugar at the time of the war, that tk:re was a redun-
dancy of currency at that particular time. Nothing
could be more fallacious than such a test, and the history
of the time proved it. In 1825 the country was re-
duced to such a condition, that Mr. Huskisson felt him-
self forced to declare that the country was brought down
to a state of barter. Did the Hon. Member forget 1839,
when, in consequence of the mismanagement of' the paper
currency, the Bank was reduced to seek foreign aid, and
it was doubtful for some time whether the Bank would
have been able to pay in gold? If convertibility since
1819 was preserved, it was only by having a re-
currence to measures which pressed severely on
the industry and energies of the country ; and they
were bound to consider if they could not prevent a re-
currence of such evils. The lion. Gentleman obji cted
to the plan, because it was not preceded by sufficient
and competent inquiry. Why, what were Committees
of the House engaged about for two years, but inquiring
into the state of the currency?—(Hear, hear.) The
principle of the Bill presented to the House by his
Right Hon. Friend was to have the currency of the day
in a fair proportion of gold and paper, and to make it
fluctuate as if the currency were entirely metallic. The
Bill guarded against those fluctuations which had been
so ruinous to private individuals, as well as to the nas
tional interests generally. The Bank of England, in
order to prevent those disasters, should -have full
power over the exchanges; but hitherto paper issue took
place from a source over which the Bank had no control,
and which did not act in unison with the Bank. As
the Bank contrrcted, this source became more
copious, and hence the want of a proper
controlling check, and the result of that want.
But, argued the Hon. Member for Lambeth, your com-
mercial distress is not to be imputed to the state of the
currency, or to any changes that may have taken place
in it. He (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) did not
deny that it would be unfair to charge all the distress
that had taken place at times to the fluctuations in the
currency—no doubt there were many prevailing causes
that also must be taken into account on that head ; but
this he was prepared to say and to maintain, that the
forced expansion of the currency, at a time when the
natural tendency of things would lead to a contraction,
was a main and essential ingredient of those distresses
from which this country had periodically sufferer).—
(Hear, hear.) And it was no answer to the proposition
which had been submitted by her Majesty's Government,
to say that because they could not remove every one of
those ingredients, and every one of those causes, they
were to be debarred from attempting to cure those
evils, the existence of which was palpable, and
the remedy for a considerable portion of which
they honestly believed thy had it in their
power to suggest.—(Hear, hear.) But the Honourable
Gentleman (Mr. Hawes), in confirmation of the views
he held, had referred to the banks of the United States,
and asked, was not their currency quite convertible? He
asked, was it not there the principle that the noes of
the many competing banks should he payable in gold,
and yet what happened ? Why, this had happened :
That, by their competition °reissue, they had reduced
their country to that condition in which they alike over-
looked the precepts of morality and the obligations of
honour, and caused wide-spread ruin around--(Heir,
hear.) This was done in his (the Chancellor of the
Exchequer's) opinion, not from a want of convertibility,
but from a recklessness of competition and of issue,
and which had led to those wild shemes which none
regretted more—for none suffered more—than the
authors of such recklessnese—(Hear, hear.) One main
principle which the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Hawes) had
laid down was, that Government should never be in a
position unduly to interfere with, or to control the Bank
in its managements and issues. This power of inter-
ference did not exist in the present charter, and in that
which was now proposed. as its substitute it was more
than ever effectually guarded against, for there was to be
not a quarterly, not a monthly, but a weekly return of the
state and liabilities of the Bank, and this, not foe the
mere uses of Parliament, but of every man in the king-
dom, and it would then be very soon ascertained if the
Bank were in any way acting under the control of the
Government.—(Loud cries of "Hear, hear.") But,
said 'the Hon. Gentleman, there is no evidence to