The Sun.
London, England, 1826-02-18 00:00:00

[THE TINES.]

Last night a debate took place in the House o
Lords on the question of the currency, similar
to the debate of Friday and Monday last in the
House of Commons. The Earl of Liverpool
opened the measure of the new banking este.
blishments (which was the object of the Bill be.
fore the House) in a speech expionntory of the
whole extent of the plans which Ministers pro.
posed for the relief of the country. The Noble
Earl began by an inquiry into the cause of our
present embarrassments, which he ascribed to
the panic for speculation, to mining and joint
stork associations, and to excessive importations
of foreign produce. The state of the circulation
might administer to this speculative disposition.
This was evident from the increase of the ch..
ciliation of the Bank of England, and the more
extravagant increase of country paper.—We
must refer to the Noble Earl's speech for
the amount of this increase of currency,
and the mode in which it operated in en-
couraging over-trading, It was allowed, he
said, on all hands, that the currency was a
main cause of our present distress ; and the only
question was, how we could best prevent a recur-
rence of the calamities under which we At pre-
sent suffered. lie regretted that in 182'2 the bill
for allowing the continuance of small Hates should
have passed ; and he thought that now it should
he repealed. Nor did he see that it would be
so difficult or dangerous as it had been represent-
ed. The quantity of small notes in circulation
could not exceed 6,000,0001. The quaetity of
gold coined since 1819 was more than VOOO,OOOl.
Allowing that there had been exported 3,000,0001.
more than had been registered at the Custom.
house, which was about 7,000,0001., the total ex-
port Could not exceed 10,000,0001. in that cage
35,000,0001. still remained in the country, and
wood he again thrown into circulation. There
was another view of the subject which would
lead to the sante result.'Lice only circulation
of London and Lancashire below 51. was in gold
The population comprised within the range
which he had mentioned could not fall short of
4,000,000, While in number it amounted to a
third of the population, in wealth and business
it rose to two.thitds. In this case the circa-

lotion of only a small portion of one pound
notes ivas to be provided for, and we had, as
he had mentioned, a greet quantity of gold in
the country. The bill before the House related
to another object—the establishment of country
banks with an unlimited number of patrons.

The banking system of England at the present
moment was of the most anomalous and extraor-
dinary kind. Banks were neither subject to
restrictions as in other countries, nor were they
perfectly free. This bill allowed banks with a
greater number of partners to be established, and
he thought it might be of advantage to the com-
merce of the country, though he would have
wished that the Bank of England, in allowing
the relaxation of its privileges, had at the same
time permitted the formation of Joint Stock Corn-
panies with limited responsibility. With such
establishments, however, the interest of its own
branch banks might have interfered. With respect
to the Irish and Scotch currency, the present
measures introduced no change. The general
subject, and the particular arrangements, would
hereafter be presented to their Lordships ; but
he might now say that no immediate change was
intended. It was the present idea of Ministers
that stamps for small notes might cease to be
issued for Scotland when the term of circulation

for the English small notes expired. The only
other topic to which his attention was called by
the question before the House was the present
distress of the commercial interest. It had been
pressed upon Government to apply for its relief
an issue of Exchequer-bills ; but his Majesty's
Government, however anxious to alleviate
the pressure of which they had given
warning, did not think it prudent to take
the step which had been taken in 1793,
when the difficulties of the commercial and
manufacturing interests arose from political
causes. Government had, however, advised the
Bank to purchase Exchequer-bills to a certain
amount, engaging to hold them harmless by pay-
ing these bills. The Earl of Lauderdale dis-
agreed with all those who had written on the
causes of our recent distress. Some had ascribed

them to excessive speculation, others to the state
of the currency. He was of opinion that the
speculations of last year were mainly to be ascribed
to the stimulus of the surplus capital of the coun.
try, applied as a sinking fund to the reduction of
the national debt. This raised the price of stocks

—the rise in the price of stocks lowered the
amount lof interest—and the lowering of the
amount of interest drove capital into other more
hazardous employments. The Ministers did not
seem either acquainted with the nature of the
difficulty or aware of the remedy which it re-
quired. The Noble Earl objected strongly to
any interference with the circulation of Scotland,
which had continued undisturbed and secure for
more than a century. The Marquis of LOIN..
down agreed i►► the two measures for suppres.
sing the small notes, and extending the basis
of banking establishments. lie regretted as
much as the Noble Earl at the head of the
Treasury, that the Bank of England would not
consent to allow a system of banking, which
would give security to the public with-
out injury to themselves. The Noble Mar-
quis agreed with his Majesty's Government
in the general principle of not interfering in the

commercial difficulties, but thought that if any
relief was to be administered, the mode of carry-
ing it into efect, by authorizing the Bank to pur-

chase Exchequer Bills, was the most objection

able. The relief in this case would not come to
the parties who most required it. The precedent

of 1793 appeared to him to he preferable. But,
from want of room for any further summary, we
must refer to our report, both for the observa-
lions of the Noble Marquis, and for those of
Lord Bexley and Lord Ellenborough, who fol.
lowed him.

Rio Grande; but, we know too little of their
character to venture any opinion as to the result.
In the American papers, however, which arrived
yesterday, there is a report of intelligence having
reached the Imperial residence, that they had been
suppressed. Even in this case, they would be a bad
omen with respect to the adventure into which the
Emperor was about to plunge—an adventure that
seemed to require his undivided attention, as well
as the unanimous support of his people. It is,
also, a bad omen, that Sir C. Stuart quitted Rio
Janeiro a short time before, as it would appear
from this, that he was impatient to quit a scene
where his talents as a diplomatist, or at least
his good offices as the representative of a friendly
Power, could produce no practical good. The
abrupt departure of our Minister, combined with
the domestic troubles we have already noticed,
would have deterred the Emperor from prose.
cuting his hostile designs, if he was at all capable
of appreciating such things, or if he had the least
knowledge of the situation in which he stood to-
wards his own subjects. In another column will
be found a Proclamation, which he addressed to
a portion of his troops, as they were preparing
to embark for the purpose of acting against
the insurgents of Rio Grande; and, if it be a
good specimen of the mental powers that would
be required from hint in managing the war against
Buenos Ayres, it holds out no very encouraging
hopes with respect to the results of his efforts..--
We never heard of a war that was begun under
worse auspices, as far as the present Government
of Brazil is concerned ; and there is no faith to
be placed in appearances, if this contest does not
end in assimilating the political institutions of
that country to those which exist in the other
States of South America.

[MORNING •CIIRONTCLII.]
It seemed to be the opinion of several Mem-
bers, last night, that there ought to be no Parlia-
mentary remedy in the case of a Judge who rnis-
conducts himself, because the precedent once set
in such a case, the House might be induced, by a
Minister skilled in the ways of influence, to ad.
dress the Crown for the removal of a good as
well as a bad Judge. It would be necessary to
rely implicitly on a Judge, us Parliament, when
a Minister is concerned, cannot be relied on.—
There is modesty, at all events, in such an
avowal.

The small notes are to circulate for several
months yet, notwithstanding the determination
so often expressed by Ministers to make no ex-
ception even in favour of Bank of England paper
This important departure from the plan of Mi•
nisters was announced last night by the Chancel-
lor the Exchequer.---(ibid.)

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