Star.
London, England, 1821-03-21 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

Lord A LTHORP presented a Petition from certain Inha-
bitants of Dorsky, in the County of Gloucester, praying that
some legislative measure might be adopted for the more effec-
tual Recovery of Stuall Debts.—Laid on the table, and ordered
to be printed.
Mr. BYNG presented a Petition from the Inhabitants of
Uxbridge, praying for a revision of the Criminal Laws.—Laid
on the table, and ordered to be printed.
Mr. BYNG presented several Petitions against the Bill for
Consolidating the Trusts respecting the Repair of High Roads
in the Neighbourhood of the Metropolis.—Laid on the table.
Mr. CURWEN presented a Petition against the Bill from
the Neighbourhood of Uxbridge.—Laid on the table.
The Report of thicommittee appointed fur inquiring into the
Courts of Justice is England was brought up, and ordered to
be printed.
The Army Mutiny, and the Marine Mutiny Bills, were read
a third time, and passed.

ANTIMEPHITIC DILL.
Mr. CUR WEN moved the Order of the Day for the second
reading of the Antimephitic Bill. The Hon. Member detailed
the objects of the Bill, which he represented as most desirable.
inasmuch as any measure was to be wished for, the tendency of
which was to do away with public nuisances.
Mr. Alderman WOODspoke against the Bill, observing, that
its only object was to enable an Individual to raise a capital by
which be might be ultimately ruined, without any one pecans
being benefited.
Mr. MARRYAT followed on the same side, and moved as
an Amendment, " That the Bill be read a second time this day
six months."

Mooas opposed the Bill, as did, aho Sir Isaac Corns.
Mr. MONCK supported the Bil 4
Mr. HUMS argued briefly against the principle of the Bill.
Mr. CURWEN saki, that any objectionable clauses might be
altered in the Committee.

Mr. BYNG said a few words against the BBL
strangers were then ordered to withdraw, and a division
having taken place, the numbers were—For the original Motion,
24—For the Amendment, 6a—Majority against the Bill, 44.

BANC_ NOTES.

Mr. PE ARSE moved for an Account of the total
number of Bank-notes' in circulation from the 26th
of February, 1796, to the 26th of August, 1820. in-
clusive; together with an Account of the Price of
Gold in that period.
Mr. GRENFELL said, that in consequence of cer-
tain papers which had been put into his hands that
morning, he wished to call the attention of the House
to a subject of very great importance, at a period
like the present of general distress. One of the papers
to which he alluded referred to the aggregate amount
of balances in the hands of the Bank of Eng-
land. Those had been reduced from £11,000,000
to 0,700,000, the. sum which now remained with
the Bank as a deposit, and the interest of which was
as available to that Corporation as it would be to a
private individual, had the principal been placed in
his hands. The amount of the interest upon the
£3,700,000 came to no less a sum than £185,000,
calculated at five per cent. and be would say, that
the Bank would be liberally remunerated for the
trouble of holding those balances by a sum of
£lO,OOO per annum. He was quite sure that any'
private banker would be very glad to take half the
amount of interest which was paid to the Bank of
England. At etime when so much was said of the
neceskity of economy, this was a subject well worthy
of notice. Another circumstance which deserved
consideration, was the allowance made to the Bank
for the management, as it was termed, of the Public

PRI' 1.: SE\ RN-PlitirE••

Debt. It appeared that for this service the Bank re-
ceived annually about £270,000 or 1:280,000—a sUm
which was more than the one-fourth part of a mil-
lion. This was at the rate of one per cent upon the
whole of the dividends. He thought £lOO,OOO would
be amply sufficient. He would state it, advisedly,
that had a fair arrangement- been made with the
Bank, a saving might be effected of nearly £300,000
per annum:
Mr. PEARSE said that that was not theirst time
that the Honourable Gentleman opposite had carried
on a system of warfare against the Bank. It could
not be expected that he should now go into the de-
tails adverted to by the Honourable Member, More
particularly as the Chancellor of the Exchequer was
not in his place. The papers he had moved for shewed
the bearingoshich Bank-notes and the price of pld
had in reference to agricultural produce. It was
quite preposterous to charge the depression in the
agricultural interest upon the variable state of the
currency. The amount of the notes, when laid be-
fore the Home, would chew that there had been no
forced issue of paper money ; it would also shew that
the price of gold and an extensive issue of paper had
no reference whatever to each other. -
Sir JOHN NEWPORT combated the opinio-ns
advanced by the Honourable Bank Director. He
had no doubt that he did all in his power for the in-
k terests of the chartered Company of which he was a
member; but if the system continued which had
gone on hitherto, it would tend, not to the public
benefit, but to the public injury.
Mr. CALCRAFT vindicated the motives and ar-
guments of his Honourable Friend (Mr. Grenfell),
who, he contended, was entitled to very great praise
for the zeal and industry he
.had evinced with re-
spect to this subject. He had-no doubt thata saving
of at least £200,000 might be made.
Mr. JOHN SMITH said, it was. very true that
large balances remained in the hands of the Bank ;
but it must be observed that the Bank did not gain
its profits in the same way as a private individual.
The House was not to suppose, for a moment, that
the Bank did actually get any such, amount of in-
terest as £170,000 or £lBO,OOO a-year.
Mr. MONCK said that, in 1817, when the issue of
Bank-notes was £29,000,000, the largest amount
which had been known at any time, the price of gold
Was somewhat less than £4 ; but, it was to be ob-
served, that the price of gold did not depend on the
.amountof the issue of Bank of England Notes, but
on the amount of all the paper which was circulated
in the country. The Honourable Member then en-
tered into some details explanatory of this proposi-
tion, and referred to the amount of Country Notes
in circulation at different periods.
Mr. ELLICE did not rise with the view of pro-
longing this discussion, but for the purpose of asking
the Honourable Member opposite (Mr. Pearce) whe-
ther, as the extensive issue of Bank-notes in 18.17 be-
gan to be felt in the bullion market before the close of
that year, would not the effect of that over issue have
been sensibly felt through the country, had not the
Bank, in order to counteract it, put forth half a mil-
lion of gold every month ?
Mr. PEARSE made no reply, and the motion was
then agreed to.

ILLEGAL CONFINEMENT.
Mr. BENNETT.presented a Petition from an indi-
vidual named Benjamin Bishop, complaining of hay.
ing been illegally confined and otherwise severely
treated by the Authorities in the Island of Guernsey.
The Petitioner stated, that he had gone to the Island
in January last on a tour of pleasure, and was ac-
companied by- two friends, one of whom carried a
stick, and another a fowling-piece. The latter got
into a scuffle with one of the inhabitants, who struck
him with a spade, and the Petitioner, after having
rendered his friend all the assistance in his power,
was apprehended, when those acts were committed
towards him, which formed the subject of his appeal
to that honourable
The Petition was then brought up and read.
Mr. BATHURST said, he did not rise to oppose
the Petition being laid on the table ; but it appea►ed
to him that the Petitioner had been treated, as he
described himself to be, according to the sentence
of a Court of Law ; and, in fact, that this Petition
was only in the nature of an appeal from that con-
viction to the House.—The Petition was laid oli
the table.