The Sun.
London, England, 1821-03-21 00:00:00

ANT DIEP II ITIC BILL.

Mr. CURWEN moved the second reading of the Asitimephi-
tie. Company's Bill.
Mr, Alderman WOOD opposed the second reading, on: the
round thal the Bill would be an invaslon of the rights of the
tnaividual now holding a patent on the present subject.
Mr. Marryatt, Mr. •P. Moore, Mr. Home, and Mr. Byng,
also snolcc.,, in opposition to the Bill ; and Mr. Curwen shortly
•
replEeil in favour of it.
dtrangers were. then ordered to withdraw, and on a division
IL ere ap,peared—
/ or the second reading 24
Against it - - - 68 .

Majority
Red the Bill was consequently lost.
Mr. LUSHINGTON oktained leave to bring in a Bill for
regulating the Allowance to Innkeepers in cases when soldiers
were hilleted upon them.
Mt. PEARCE moved for a return of the amount of Bank
Notes in circulation on the 26th of February and 26th of Au-
gust, from
.179 i; to 1820, both inclusive, and also for the price of
Gold at the same period.
Mr. GRENFELL did not rise to oppose this motion, hut to
veil the attention of the -House to a paper now before it, by
which it appeared that the balances of public money in the
hands of the Bank at present amounted to at least £3,600,000,
for which they paid nothing; yet employing it as they did in
ditentnt, it produced them at least Ilil;)",000,annually, whilst
zio,eoo would be ample remuneration for them, and any psi.
tate Banker would jump to have the money orl such conditions;
another subject connected with the Bank he must mention,
Lamely., the suns paid to the Bank for the manegement of the
public debt. For this service, the Bank reeeived £270,000.
.Ha was repared to prove that .C 100,090 would be ample pay-
theta:-Here wonld be a saving of near £300,000 per annum
to this country, a rayitg most important at this period of public
distress. He had tier the present laid aside his warfare against
the Bank, and should make no motion on this subject, but
would not fail pn every occasion to call the attention of the
Rouse to these two items. -
Mr. PEARCE said, he felt some satisfaction at the absence
of the warfare alluded to by the lion. Gentleman ; at the same
time he must say the Bank had not sought the absence of that
warfare, but. had alwess been open to inquiry. The Hon.
Gentleman then pro'cceded to defend the Bank, which in. its
dealings had sougnt the benefit of the Public as well as their
011771.

~~

Sir J. NEWPORT simported the argument of his Hon.
Friend (Mr. Grenfell) and contended that the dealings with
the Bank had not operated to the public benefit, but to the
public injury.
Mr—C-ALCRAFT, alluding to the warfare carried on by,
kis Finn. Friend against the Bank, said, the Public was under
great obligation to his Hon. Friend fOr the manner in which he
had conducted that warfare, by which he had saved to the
Public 200,0001. per annum.
Mr:J. SMITH defended the Bank. He acknowledged the
benefit derived to- the Public from the labours of his Hon.
Friend, (Mr. Grenfell) but at the same time he was desirous of
guarding the House against crediting every statement respect-
Bank profits. It did not follow, that becanse•l7o.o9ol. or.
130,0091. appeared in figures, as interest, that the Bank.. made
a profit to that amount ; the tact, on investigatiou, would ap-
pear far otherwise.
Mr. PEARCE said a few words in explanation.
Mr. MONCK, alluding to what 'had been said on the - sub-
ject Of the issues of the Bank, affecting the price of ("old, said,
the price of gold was not affected by the issues of the Bank of
England only, but by those of Country Banks also ; and,
therefore, the returns now moved for would not fo:nu a -just
sad correct criterion by which"to form a judgment.
After a few words from Mr. EI.LICE, the motion was
agreed to.
Mr. BEN-NET said, he had a motion standing for this
evening, on the subject of the conduct of Courts of Justice in
Guernsey ; but previous to doing so, he had a. Petition to-pre-
sent from an Individual, complaining of certain,grievances and
acts of oppression which he had been•subjmted to by proceed-
ings in those Courts, and especially it complained of severe im-
Msoninent, to which he had been subjected upon the testimony
of a peljured witness. The Petition was braught up and read;

but the confusion in the no•,...sewas so great, we could not col-
lect its contents. _ _

444ter a law words from Mr. BATHURST, it was ordered to
lie on the table.

Mr. BENNET then proceeded to movefor a Copy.of.the
Report of the Commission appointed to inquire into the Abuses
in Courts of Justice in Guernsey. This Commission was ap-
pointed in MI, consewnce of repeated 'complaints of
abuses and grievances- and ni1616, after an expence of 5,0001.
to the country, that Commission made a Report, recommend-
ing the adoption of various. steps regarding the Jurisprudence
of that Island. Three years had since elapsed, but nothing
had been done on the subject ; he was therefore now desirous
to propose 'an Address to his Majesty, for a Copy of this Re-
port, that the House might judge how far the recommendations
of the Commissioners could be adopted. He concluded by
moving an Address accordingly:
Mr. BATHURST said; the Report in question recom-
mended almost an entire change of the Laws of the Island. On
its being received here, it was submitted to the consideration of
the Privy Council, and the Law Officers of the Crown wore
consulted, and directed, with the advice of the Council, to draw
up, a Code-9f Laws, suited to the Island ; and that Code was
forwafdad to Guernsey. To that Code, no answer had yet been
received ; and the Hon. Member eould not but see the diffi-
culty, 'Sand, indeed, impracticability, of this House sitting to
legislate for remodifying a Code of Laws of a local description,
founded on: 'the ancient Norman Code, and suited entirely to
local circumstances and prejudices.' The having the Report,
now moved by she Hon. Member, would only bet°, open to
the House a mass of statements, which would be almost wholly
unintelligible to it ; he hoped, therefore, the Hon. Gentleman
Would, for the present, withdraw his motion ; and, by giving a
short time, he trusted he should be able to give him the Infor-
mation he required.
Mr. BENNET accordingly consented to withdraw his
motion.