The Sun.
London, England, 1821-02-09 00:00:00

when.compared with the home_titsle. "They de-
scribed the state. of things for several years past
to have been such as to impoverish them greatly,
till, at length, the town Of .:13irmitIgharn was re-
duced to a ,most deplorable_ State.: The Manu7
.facturers were-employed but three or four days
in a week, and many of them were obliged to
.seek support from parochial relief. Certain per,
sons had taken u,pbtt themselves to inquire into
the sale of those articles.consumed by the lower
classes, and whether. it- was necessary to give the
workmen-credit, The result of the inquiry had
proved, that there
,was a most alarming diminu-
tion in the consumption of almost all the arti-
cles of. which they- were formerly the purchasers!
rile Petitioners prayed for the adoption of such.
measures as might afford relief. As this Petition
ill
)a
(I been framed so:long
_ago, he had thought it
r'glit to inquire- what was now the state of things
'II that town. From the information, he had re-
"ived, he believed that some branches of com-
merce had been improved, but, the staple mann-
facture of the town—the hardware, had declined
since last august to- the extent of from 20 to 25
Per cent., and the capitalists .still continued to
diminish their capital in trade, and to discharge
their workmen. The Poor-rates were about the
same as last year ; but the price of corn consi-
dered, they were in effect much higher. The
distress of the petitioners extended to the iron-

worker in ,Staffordshire. As to the cause, he
would: not:venture an opinion. lie would only
*say, that he believed to be of a general, rather
than of a local nature. At present he should do
more 'than lay the .P!!tition on the table,:as-
sur,ut. the Houge that the subject .was one of
most vital:lmportance,- and one that demanded
1114nediatei attention,.. and the best exertions of
41:Ili/Asters, to remove. it.
-Mr. LAWLEY spoke, to the diminished con-
sumption of the necessaries of life among the
Poorer classes, and pre,ssed the Petition on the
consideration of the House. An Hon. Member
meant shortly to bring this subject before them.
Ile was glad of it, and was sure that they would
give it their best attention.
LITTLETON said an inquiry of the charac-
ter described in the Petition, had been set on
I;`39t anlimg. his constituents in the south-west
parts.of LanCashire, who were engaged in la-
ben rs-
similar to that of the Petitioners, and the
'result had, been the same as at Birmingham.
Though it was not broadly stated in the Petition,
it was: the opinion of the Petitioners that much
of their distress grew out of
.the measures adopt-
ed by Parliament, in_ order to return to a metal-
lic currency. Ife . did. not wish that 'measure
tO
be diSturbed which Parliament had • deli-
berately adopted. Ile hoped that confidence
,Nruuld..:revive, and that. the Banks would again
"(1 enabled• to afford the industrious classes
that aid which they.' had formerly afforded. If
the _sufferings of those situated like' the Peti-
ttc'ners appeared to be peculiarly great, he hop-
td Some means of assisting them might be de-
'
i18"1•., .It appeared:that,the Petitioners suffered
greatly, as there had existed in.their town a re-
system of manufacturing paper to obtain
t't cart' The Petitioners stated the grounds of
(1„-ir distresk to arise not from the diminution of
111 and for .their manufactUres on the cessation of
car;if they took the last five years-into their
4P-tion, they might have come to such a coa-
ti -s`°' ; but as they
,Oul y took the last two years,
they conceived the termination of the war could
-Have nothing to do with it. This was their
'Pinion, as the
tear of . comparative
year 1818 had been to them a
tpro:T H erit v. e, however,
v"ught the termination of the war, when it was
;:'llidered that the Petitionera had manufactur-
lii, nut only swords and muskets, but all the fur-
.lr.`,l,l_re of .ivar,--stirrups, &c., and when it
ts reniembered how largely. we used to sup-
PIY fo' •
thou for powers with similar 'articles, he
Thldgut that the cessation of: War must have
iii4te a great difference WtbePetitioners, and
rnation'allY years must. elapse before the de-
"which was formerly thus created, could
fllt•d.up by - our foreign trade..lle re-
44:11111..bered• accompanying a- deputation to Lord
tbat.'rave 011 one occasion, when it was stated.
such was the demand.they had then to meet
ti,surll the extent of their works, that they were
1)001:1,1,1(1..bit -of turning. out a musket a minute,
Isaatit r
"sorts' 43'
ittakinagnd night. Though grateful for the
to extend our. Foreign Trade, the
iniveiriacturers considered this a subject of minor
This 4altce, and the correctness of their idea on
. .
'Lad ii";,'Ject was borne out by inquiries which he
ago, an opportunity
.of making. some years
and
r,ite. adverted - to the Agricultural distress;
to gi,.`lnatrked that it was galling for the farmer
oaid, f w 0 bushels of Wheat now for what he
1111/,
formori
purchase for one, and this to bene-
wlaoi undholder, who profited to the extent to
POl. ler • I • ar s were iniured. t might not be po-
t 'That r
tiot ouse, but was.. of opinion, that
Ileo4lioaal "11 incotne, but on 'property, and on the
4tnry bl, would (properly explained,) if the
Parti "uld
Qs. iii. hear it: be agreeable to nearly all
Preparing . was surprised that Ministers, when.
At overt, 'sPeech from the Throne, -should
as felt f,, °I"fl the agricultural distress which
lie
alt.. one end of the country to the other.
inl'iruerce hin'Provementin some branches of our
‘.lese were
re looked at with alarm, and suspected
tilattt,ho„,-ar from justifying an opinion that "the
for the thi! country -Was materially changed
cotton "tter. it
.1 trade , appeared that workmen in the
foal, 'lad not full WI-tires. If the trade
;_•)
Ir°ll-1d 'Y arrived could it be doubted that they
was sc. deinanded More pay. This, hoWever,
pot SO • dr from b '
1) I" 6f them vas
the case that a considerable
oorti 1.) 'ern Was still maintained out of the
if
't Were resol.l.4,e,:ii aCommittec Were ;ranted, and
11''t (3 to give the agricultural classes
4hd if protection to which they were entitled,
a„,, •
tr • mu-wove , I
Qde I- meal. WOK. place in our foreiT,n-
, le
Cur, did not believe that
these would
satisr.edthe evils he hailnow to deplore', but he was
that
thelrors country would go on from bad~to.
e without a general revision. of our system.
e`fioerceo:itery I.lad le-ss revenue' since the war than
I)
wished to-know what was the amount
:of ,
r, lenue now arising from Ngriculture and
`•-lhninerce. bthis.icountr; was goina.
in ‘,l
$ nat Was conidered• the -zenith of prespe7ity,„

she had to meet an e3tPanditnre of 80 millions ;
but then'she had what Might be called a ri,Veimmi
of four hundred millions.. - Now we had taxes
to the amothit of fifty
three hundred millions Taking this View of the
subject it Would be seen that our situation was
much inferior to what it had been, and .svheat,
which was at the former peried alluded to 10s. was
now only 6s..per bushel. This in part arose from
the measures adopted with respedtto the 'Bank,
but he agreed that on no account ought Parlia-
ment to renew the Restriction Act. This he ad-
:Mated would be,only pitting off the evil day, and
the same ruin must be ultiMately endured. But
when he looked at the: deereaSed' Value of land
and the increased value of money, he thought he
had a right to call. upon Ministers to endeavour
to relieie the country from part of the interest
of the national debt. llewas to break
faith with the public creditor ; bmit the barthens
under which the country laboured, could not be
borne. He called on the Noble Lord, in look-
ing" at these subjects, not to regulate his conduct
by a view to any partial interests, but to do that
which would be beneficial to the country generally.
The taxes and poors' rates, were now so high; that
when the Government had got their propor-
tion of the taxes, and the Poor had got their
quota, time landed proprietors might as well sur-
render their estates at once, for nothing would
remain for them. What, then, was to be done,
if the whole property 'of the Country iiaif'only
sufficient to pay time taxes, the poor, and the tithes,
He should wish to know what the Noble Lord
took the real property of the Couritry at now ?
Mr. Pitt bad been accustomed to take it at
_2.8,000,0001. He would ask if the Noble Lord
. •
could now take it :at 'more than 20:000,0001: ?
At that time the annual charge of the poor's
rates was between. two and three million. This
was out of -28,000,0001. Now the property, of
the country was reduced to 20,000,0001. the poors'
rates exceeded 8,000,000/.lf the statements he-had
made were incorrect, he should be glad to hear
the Noble Lord prove them fallacious. If the in-
terest of the public funds had risen to twice. the
amount of the real property of the Country, ought
the latter to bear all the burthen of the poor
—ought the former alone to escape taxation ?
When a -new property tax was talked of, he
could only say he wished the country could bear
one. _ But he-was convinced that it could not.—
He would ask what landlord got his rents ? His
tenants had claimed a reduction of 25 per cent.
or had tendered back the leases.: If some
cient measures were not adopted the whole of the
farmers would give up their leaSes. This pros 7
pect ought. to alarm the Noble Lord, and make
him disposed to inquire into time' existing distress,
and the means by which it might be removed.
Mr. LITTLETON had not said that the'sountry
could bear a Property Tax, but he thought some
system ought to be adopted to get at that mon-
ster the funding system. ,
. Mr. CuawEN resumed his argument. He had
wished to see the Noble Lord removed from
office, but he called on him to look fairly at the
state of the country, and doing this he should
have his most hearty support, At such a time
when the most vigorous exertions were demanded
to save the nation, all party considerations ought
to be forgotten. As an agriculturist claimed
nothing for that particular class to which he be-
longed—he sought no partial benefit, but he de-
sired to see such measures -adopted as would tend
to the general prosperity-, and be likely to place
the country in the situation '‘vhich it had. occu7
pied before she rushed into the late war.
Mr. W. PEEL believed the allegations in the
Petition were- unfortunately true. The trade of
Birmingham was in a very deplorable state. He
was satisfied the workmen cuuld not be main-
tained without. parochial relief. The inquiry
called for, if it could not relieve, as he thought it
would afford satisfaction to a numerous class,
was in his opinion advisable,. .
Mr. ROBINsoN thought it was natural for the
Hon. Member, interested as he was in the sub-
jects to which he had called the House, should
go into them at some length. He hoped the
House would pardon him when he declined en-
tering on topics of such serious importance at
that time. The measure which the petitioners
supposed would restore them to time trade which
they formerly enjoyed, when he considered that
it went to overturn an Act of Parliament made
two years ago on a most important subject, lie
thought the House ought to pause before they
entertained . the prayer :of the Petition. To the
system then adopted he.had been less favourable
at first ; he was, ill fact a complete convert to the
arguments used in support of time, measure, and
now he was not prepared- to believe that there
could be any reason or safety in abrogating it.
One proposition was of fearful importance that
had been suggested as a remedy for our present
difficulties. The idea had got abroad (and he
knew it was very palatable to many classes in
the country) that a legislative measure ought
to pass to reduce:the interest of the national debt.
It might apparently give,some relief to the agri-
cultu,ral classes, but it would not be unmixed.
good. They might talk of the necessity of touch-
ing the great fundholders,
:but. what was to be-
come of the small ones—what was to become of
the hundreds and thousands of small ones, who
had their all bound up in the honour-and good
faith of the country. He. could not bear to hear
such a plan mentioned.- without earnestly calling
on the House not .to be hurried away to that for
a temporary advantage, which would carry in its
train incalculable and irreparable mischief. Such
plans the Government were bound to oppose, and
it was a little hard to impute to them reluctance
to relieve, because. they were not prepared to
undo what Parliament had so recently done,. or
to endeavour to afford relief by a violation of pub-
lie faith. If any motion on these subjects Were
hroug,ht forward, he would give it his most re-.,
spectful and anxious attention ; and if a plan
were suggested, which promised to relieve with-
out doing injury, no man would be more ready to
give it his most cordial support. .
Mr. BARING was surprised that the Right
Hon. Gentleman- had sat down without express-
ing more of his feeling.on the specific subject be-
fore,. the -,11005e., In what he had said with re-
-
spq to 'Ole interest :of the .)4 ational.Debt; Ile

a,reed with the IZight lion. Gentletrian5 and if
there were' 'one subject on which every !latest
and honourable man in the country were•united
'it was that,. for that country could have bo ho-
nesty and no honour, which, after passing through
a war like the last, by borrowing Money of some of
its subjects, should, in peace refuse to make goOd:
its engagements. He was sure the expected be-
nefits calculated upon from such an expedient.
would not be realised, and in a country like this.
one description of property could not be touched
without endangering every- other. The 11on.
Gentleman would find,if the mortgage which the
public creditors had on the property of the coon-
try were disregarded, that his own title deeds
would soon be worth nothing.
Mr. CURWEN wished to keep good faith with
the public creditor, if.that were.possible.. It was
on the assumed impossibility of doing so that his
argument was founded.

Mr. 13.trUNG resumed. Undoubtedly it had
been proposed by many Gentlemen to pay off
the Public Debt by means of a sacrifice of pro-
perty on all sides ; and such a doctrine had even
been 'supported by high authority in that House.
lie himself had always considered it impractica-
ble. The sacrifice-of general property must be,
at all times, and in.all countries, attended with
much 'danger. When his lion. Friend spoke of
imposSibility as the reason. why such a plan should
not be adopted he would. say, that he never con-1
sidered it impossibto pay clebts.:tts_ long as the
party owing theml4ssessed: a farthing of pro-
perty. The Petition brought the House to' the
consideration of the general concerns and state of
the country ; for although it presented •a correct
representation of the 'State of Birmingham, it was
also a true picture of the Whole nation. There

was no interest in deeper distress than the
agricultural interest ; and that was certainly a
most-important consideration for the House, and,
most particularly for Country Gentlemen. For
that reason he had been surprised to see the
Right lion. Gent. at tile 'head of the Board of
Trade, sit down without adverting to so interest-
ing a topic. it was a serious thing, that the sixth
year of peace should find the nation in such a
state, that a Speech from the Throne represented

no one of its interests to be in a state of pro-
sperity. He was not to be -considered as a party
man upon this subject ; and he hoped that all
would come to it, without any of those differ-
ences of opinion which arose from party motives.
Nothing was so urgent and important as a strict
examination into the causes of our present 'state ;
a state, he was convinced, not resulting from .the
cessation of War, for the Petitioners themselves
proved it. They stated that the year 1818
'was a year of comparative prosperity ; and
that since that year their distress had been
accumulating. They also said, that their local
distress originated in the, 'great depression of the
American market. Articles of manufacture
which atone period ‘fetched 'ten dollars in that
market, we're now only worth three and three-
quarters. ' Every article was thus depreciated in
value, and .when it was- considered that in the
whole of that extensive Continent there was
scarcely a button' or a door latch used, but
which was of Birmingham manufacture; it was
evident that any defalcation in the means of
that nation must affect in a peculiar degree,
this particular town. A- similar defalcation of
means existed in our home market; and must be
traced to some general cause. Whatever might he
the intentions of. the petitioners, and whatever
might be the views whichilon. Gents. entertained
with regard to the measures that ought to he
pursued, he was convinced that they ought first,
to endeavour to obtain a correct view of the case.
fle had no hesitation in owning it to be his opi-
Ilion, that he could find the cause of a very con-
siderable portiOn of our difficulties in the altera-I
tioni in the currency which had taken place. lie
meant.not only the establishing of a, paper' cur-
rency, but the important measure of changing the
standard, and fixing it upon gold. The paper
currency during the war created. a lavish expen-
diture, and brought on a debt- which had been
•increasing immensely even" by a return to peace.
The produce of the soil did not sell, at this mo-
ment, for much less than what it did at a period
antecedent to the existence of the present dis-
tress. lle was aware that calculating on the no-
mhial pound it was so, but in real value, the
60.5. now produced by the quarter of corn was
equal to the 80s. for which it would sell for-
merly. And if a quantity of iron, or any
other. commodity, were taken in exchange for
the corn, it would produce 'quite as much
now as then. But unfortunately many great
landholders and proprietors were overwhelmed
with deht,by means of mortgages andinterests.
Theseindividuals had purchased tinder illusive.
appearances. and afterwards found their specula-
tions fail. They had in fact been deceived by
the Government, by.the trifling system which had
been pursued in regard, to the currency. Natty,
had lost all, their capital and were, now in prison
:for debt. As this system had operated upon -the
landholders, so had it operated upon the whole
country. The Petitiimers stated that amongst
them there was a diminution of consumption; yet

there, appeared to be an increased consumption of
exciseable articles; and this they were at a loss
to reconcile. To him it was perfectly 'reconcile-
able. The fundholder alone had a fixed income;
and from the very depression existing amongst
other classes, was enabled to consume and em-
ploy a larger portion of exciseable articles. For
example, where lie formerly kept one horse, when
oats were fifty shillings a quarter, now tit►at they
were twenty-five, he was enabled to keep two.

It was said that the Excise Revenue had in-
creased six millions. That was not the fact, be-
cause new taxes had been laid on to that-amount,
and it
_was acknowledged that their produce had
been one' million and a half. But look to Ire-
land., There the liked incomes were very. few,
and the consequence that the Excise Reve-
nues, instead. of hie, easing, had deCreased; The
drone Of soCiety.liad enjoy ed" all the adVantages,
while every thilig CormeCted with the 'industry • Of
the country suffered -.under depression. " It was
mainly necessary that the llone-sliould direct its
attention to the state in which we were, and first
of all to consider maturely the-- state of our ex.
penditure look- to , -h a.tjt forniN•t,).; waSl.and

to what it hail nose grown, owing b.:, the changes in
our currency and AO the, amplitnde.of ouemeatis;
arid to endiiavour to bring itjiliiiitift to the'tulue'el
coin, in the proportion of from eighty- to -sixty:
It had been said by ati Hon. Friend of his (Mr.
Western); that since the year •nitiety,two, the
expenditure of the Country had inereastd three-
fold. -Ile Was convinced fiteV-Ouglit tP
Mediately -to retrenchment; and, if-zthey
not get it back to what it. was, they should re-
,duce it as far as they could, anielie.had.no doubt
but a considerable portion •of our
would also .be reduced. The prel:erit Agricultural
distress arose in sorrie.degree frOm the resistances
rt hich were made tu the altered state of things,
Rents Must be red iced. Gentlemen had 'taken
it into their 'heads that thins *would improve
from year to year, and under that impresSion
kept up their rents ; forgetting, as he had before
stated, that corn in exchange for other commodi-
ties was Worth nearly the s:tme-as it alwayS had
been. He thought it 'a most desirable- object
to give as much facility as possible to time
currency of the realm. • He wished for a
Committee,—not to sit up stairs, but a Com-
mittee of the whole House, to take -into consi-
deration this momentous subject. He should
propose that the pound note be, made payable
.by. ,a pound sterling in either of the precious
'petals. -What made him most anxious to do this
was, beeause there was a degree of uncertainty
pt.evailinein the publiCinind Which was highly
injurious. The Countr:Banks were at an entire
loss what to do, as' hail been instanced in the
case .of the Bank of Ireland, the other day. It
had then been stated that Bank-notes'were three
percent. above par. The 116 use would excuse
his having occupied so much of its time ; but he
could not let the Petition pass without deliver-
ing his sentiments upon time cause of that distress
for which it prayed relief.
Mr. WEsTEnx was of opinion, that much good
would result from an inquiry, on the part of the
House, upon this most important question. The
Petitioners stated, that the year ISIS was-one of
comparative prosperity. This was also the case
with agriculture. In 1817 it had revived, and
the following year was one of comparative pros-
perity. This proved the union of the two inte-
rests ;• and proved that whilst the one flourished,
the other prospered. And it was his most per-
fect conviction, that agriculture took the lead in,
both cases, as well in depression as in pro's,
perity. In 1811, agriculture became reduced,
and trade and manufactures followed, and shared •
in its distress. In 1818, agriculture recovered,
and the carne principle acted in producing the
same result. The manufacturing. poor were not
able at the present moment to procure the same
quantity of-bread as they were in 1818, when it
was from 25 to 30 per cent, higher. The reduc-
tion of rents would have no effect -Lyon the ge-
neral state of the country. It would be undoubt,
edly of advantage to• tenants;-' hut it was a ques-
tion between them and• the landlords alone. It
could tend to no purpose such -as stated by his
H.Friend,nal ely, the payment of the. Public debt.
Mr. Recta no rose for the purpose of making a
few observations upon that part of his Hon.
Friend's (Mr. Baring) speech, where he endea-
voured to account for -the origin of the present
distress. Upon that subject there was much di-
vision-of opinion. Some attributed it to.exces-
siVe taxation, some to a transition from war to
peace, and some to time changes which had taken
place in the. currency. His Hon. Friend had
dwelt upon the last cause asdieing one of great
importance ; and he had endeavoured •to shew
that the price of corn, in comparison with other
produce, was not lower than it had formerly been.
He had stated that with a qw.trter of corn, the same
quantity of any other commodity, in proportion,
might be obtained. He (Mr. Ricardo) was. not
of that opinion. He believed that the fall in the
price of corn was peculiar, and exceeded that
'of any other produce. He called upon his lion.
Friend to look at the price of bullion, now that
corn was•fallen twenty-five per cent., that was,
as lie had said, from 80s. to 605.-; •and to com-
pare it with the price of bullion and ,corn when
the 'present standard - of • currency was adopted.
It was ii4ossible that the alteration of the cur-
rency could ,have caused so much excess. The
fall of other commodities had been great. 'Wine,
as he had -been informed, was twenty-live per
cent'. 'lower, and cotton the same ;- and if they
rooked into other otmuntries they would see them
in'-similar situations. The Hon. -Member pro-.
ceeded to show the necessity of a., fixed cur-
rency., and contended against the propriety of
trusting any body Of Merchants, hoivever honour-
able, with the means of causing- those fluctuations
Which. 'must pl-ove of great inconvenience-: to
the Country. He attributed the distress of the
agricultural interests to the very laws which had
been appointed to prntect 'tient. If there were
no Cord Laws, if the priceiof our corn remain-
ed the same as that grown...upon'the Continent,
then there" would" be a -rettiedyi for any super--
abundane iii consequence of two.or three plen-
tiftil seasons. it would, only borto reduce the
price-three or four shillinksper quarter, and take
it into the foreign market. It was his con-
scientious belief that taxes invariably tended to
raise the price of the commodity upon which
they 'were- laid, and consequently fell'upon
the' consumer. Ills particular objection to
the plan of his Honourable-Friend (MrAaring)
was, that it was not foUnded upon the true prinCi-
ples which Ought to regulate commerce, since
the , enactment by which 4;Old was made the
standard of currency, it was easy to account for
the
_variation of-that metal with regard .to silver.
The Bank had been induced to bliy up- gold.. to
meet the dernanu to which -they.were- liable:
That demand had not been made, as. far As 'he
understOod ; but large purchases had been made
and that had raised the plisse. Tr f the-Bank 'Were
to change that quantity of :.gold into silver, AO
latter metal' would be raised in the sanie:propor-
don. But . the expenditure, was -the. _true sodece
to•.which:thelionseshOuld go fat relief..- ..Occu,
piers of land had,lieepperSuaded that their inte,
rests were the same as the holders,-arid. had petiL
dolled the HouSe; and
,-obtaired law§.-whieli had
beete injurious to tlie.Onn.d to, the
ea •
other.

Mr, J. PEARSL sakta few words, wiiieh were

chiefly inandible in the Caller'', ite was 'Wee-,
'stood-t-oZniltend that' thd effed-of "forei4n toting
was to turn the exchangel -against this Country,
AidermatglETC:ith 'Stild2,oo the.distres9
.complained of ti'as not Confint4l:lOthis. country,
but extended :to all others, and -partieularly to
that of. America, Where 'tli lion. MeMber's
Ricardo) opinions had been pushed farther
than iti tiny other. HO, considered the alter-
ation in the currency w }licit took plar4e in. 1819
was calculatedincrease .that distress untie
than any thing else, • it Was enveloped in a•
technicalitY; .or jargon ha might call tt, iyhiCh
,was not understood by 9.loths oe the. natfon.—
He believed that a reduction in the expenditure,
and in the taxation, would be the only means or
'affording,felic4, The only remedy they had
,was
'patience. That alone and rigid economy would
bring back thie. country to a State of prosperity 4
Ile wt persuaded that, gradual retrenchment in
public expenses would do much. He* did not
mean to say that the Great Officers of State were
overpaid, but the salaries of Public Officers, dui--
•ing a considerable time past, had been augment-
ed. Looking at the whole subject, it was neces-
sary that the cause of distress should be well un-
derstood: Gentlemen would do much good by
taking a gegeral view of the causes. which had
produced distress. H a
Ile expressed. hope that
the 'Wernher fOr Portarling-ton would ibring. enr-
ward his plan, because he was cenyincedit would
mitigate part of the distress. The Hou_Nt-;rn-
ber's Speech in 1819 would have dote much

good.

Ml'. BARING apologised for addressina the.
House after so much had been said
.on OW sub-
ject : but differing in opinion froth ,the Member
for Portalington, with respect to the difference
between the value of the pound sterling and the
pound note, he wished to offer a few observe.
tions: His Hon. Friend stated, that there was a
deficiency of from four to five per cent. ;, he (Mr.
Baring, contended, that the deficiency was c‘.ll-
- more. He estimated the difference
between the pound sterling and the pound 'Paper
to be near one-fourth. He did not think, any
thati'could look at gold and paper without seeing
there was a depreciation in the value of the out
standard pound of at 'least one-third. If Gen.
tlemen looked back to ancient habits of persons,
' that deficiency would be seen. In the receipt of
wages, which had been long habitual, the depre-
ciation would he clearly explained, His lion.
Friend had 'stated, that the difficulties would
occur in case of a double tender of, gold and
silver. It did not appear that inconvenience was
felt in various parts of Europe where a double
tender was Common. In Spain, Genoa, Italy. and
France, a dOuble tender was the usual mode ,of
payment. He did not see that this country way
bound to adhere only to gold, merely to please
mathematicians, who measured every thing with
the greatest nicety. It appeared •to him „the
Bank might pay in 'gold and silver, as in l' mince.
It would be an advantage to a Banker who. ran
low to have the opportunity of laying his hands
upon silver in the market.
Mr. RICARDO said, there was no criterion by which ' is
Hon. Friend could ascertain the difference between the ig-)id
pound and the pound paper' to be so great .A. 4 he' had stated.
Mr. A1'111'001) stated the fact, that dityintz a period .of
two years and a half the Bank had issued five millions Ind a
half of sovereigns, notwithstanding which not one remainod'in
the country. .

.
Mr. lit said, not loss than
.4,000,000' of sover9igns
lodged in the Bank of Paris.

,
The Petition was then received, laid on the table, and °ace-
ed to bc. printed. • •
The , CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER '.obtained
lea 7e to bring in atßill to alter and certain form of
pleading in the Exchequer. . .• •., •
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQT:EI: also gave
notice that the.dronped Orders would be taken up to-morrow.
Mr.BENNETT gave'notiee that he should bring on-hissnio-
tion respecting' the refusal of High Sheriffs to convene County
Meetings to-morrow. ' •
'The Lengitudeßill was committed.—Report to-morrow.
The other Orders of the. Day were disposed-of, .and., the
House adjourned.