The Sun.
London, England, 1845-04-28 00:00:00

Oltening nu.

LONDON, MONDAY, APRIL 28, 1845.

On recurring to the debate of Friday night last, on
Sir Emir;fur PEEL'S moving the House into Committee
on the subject of Irish and Scotch banking, we must
repeat the expression of our satisfaction with the general
features of the plans announced by the Premier. If this
satisfaction appears at first sight somewhat inconsistent
with the earnest and anxious tone of deprecation we
have adopted, on so many occasions, in looking forward
to that exposition, which has now been given, of the
Minister's intentions, we must take lessee to remind our
readers that our misgivings, up to Friday evening itself.
were shared in by the while Scottish public. On that
very morning, indeed, there was published in some of
the London journals a report of the proceedings and
votes of one of those numercus meetings of the Scottish
nobility, gentry, bankers, &c., which have been convened
during the last twelve months, to take into considera-
tion the propriety of petitioning the Legislature against
the intended interference of the Premier with the exist-
ing system of Ireland as well as Scotland. Under tl at
system these two portions of the empire had been per-
mitted to retain the small note circulation, which is on
all hands admitted to have been an essential and pri-
mary element in the development of that prosperity
and wealth, the growth of which, in Scotland
more especially, has been so rapid and so stetdys
and which, in both the one and the other, carries with
it so many indications of permanency. It will be
recollected that last year, not only at the commetcement,
but both in tl:e progress and at the termination of the
debates on that which we can never charaeterise as other
than the " disastrous complement" of his Currency Stan-
dard Bill of 1819, Sir ROBERT PEEL, in answer to the
numerous questions propounded to him on the subject,
over and over again distinctly intimated his purpose, this
session, to assimila'e the law of Scotland and Ireland,
with regard to a small-note circulation to that of England
—that is, to make 5/. notes the lowest paper issues.
We might not without impropriety deplore the needless
uneasiness and pain which Sir lionEET's long. continued
mystery on this question has occasioned. He has, in
this affair, carried to its extremest limit that secrecy of
intentions which no British Minister had ever before
pushed to the same extent ; but we will not quarrel with
him on that head. We sincerely rejoice at the fact of
his greatly modified intentions en this point. The
•theme of requiring monthly or other reriodical returns
from Scotch and Irish batiks of their issues is, in the
language of Mr. Fox MA trLE, " not so dangerous as we
xpected." It " scarcely touches," as Mr. PATRICK
STEWART observed of it, " that most material question of
the low denomination of the bank-notes, about which the
greattst degroe of alarm and dissatisfaction had been
created." Mr. HUME b urded his approval of the scheme
on this very grimed too ; for he " bad come down to the
House expecting that the plan to be proposed would do
more, which, had it done, would have produced mis

chief." And Mr. COLQUIJOUN'S approbation was won
by the same features of abar.donment of the original de-

sign to withdraw the small sank .note circulation, and the
general moderation of the rest of the plan, with the excep-
tion of one or two details, into which we shall not, on this
eecasion, enter. Mr. WARBURTON'S question, although it
( d a negative answer—namely, " whether it was in-
tended to allow banks that ehou!d have made excessive is-

sues (or issues to an amount beyond that which, on the first
average struck of their circulation, they are afterwards to

be limited to), to pay their notes, when 40s. in value,
in silver ?"—this question is also suggestive of some
important Considerations that we may discuss at some
length hereafter, when we shall corsider in what degree
't will be pcssitle for the Scotch and Iriih banks to make
thus© d.-postts of specie in the nature of guaranteed se-
curity fur their respective cireu:ations. On the Pre-
mier's Own showitu and figures, in his estimate of the
aggregate gull currency of the United Kingdom, and
from his answers to the sig aificant questions addressed
to him by alr. C. %\ oou, i 44 Feference to the continued