Star.
London, England, 1819-06-21 00:00:00

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•
•
PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS:
PROTEST, entered in the Journals of. he House of Lords,
against the second reading of a Rill, riatitto a An Act to con-
tinue the Restrictions contained in several Acts, on Payments
in Cash by the Bank of England, until the Ist day of May,
1623, and to provide for the.gradual Resumption of Cash
Payments, and to permit the Exportation of Gold and Silver."
• By trio Earl of LAUDIULD/AS.
First—Because, having stated in a Protest, entered on thel
Journals of this House, of date of June 21,1816•," That by rea-1
son and experience we are taught, that if Coin of different' Me-
tals is thrown into circulation, varying in the proportion betlivixt
their real and denominative value, that which is of greatest in-
trinsic value has always disappeared; thus, in the course of the
last century, twenty-one shillings of lawful Silver Coin, being of
intrinsic or market value nearly four pence more than a guinea,
we know that all lawful Silver Money vanished from circula-
tion; and yet it is now expected that our Gold Coin will remain
in circulation, though a guinea will, under this new plan, pos-
sess considerably more teal value than twenty-one shillings of
our new Silver Coin!"
And having further stated, in a Protest to be found on the
Journals of this House, of date 27th of May, 18181, " I cannot
concur in passing an Act for the ResuMption of Cash Payments
on the sth of July, 1819, or at any other definite period, with-
oat
reference to the sitennion or repeal of the 56th of Geo. 111. '
chap. 60; for I shoultilioknyself by such conduct a party to a
grow deceit, which Parliament will prattice on the people of
thji country, by passing an Oct which seems to assume the pos-
sibility that the Bank may, without ruin tolhc Establishment,
resume and continue its encamp and salutary practice of paying
In cash on demand, whilst the provisions of that Act are in force:
I do not now feel that any ciircumstances have occurred which
can justify an alteration of these opinions; on the contrary, I,
must think the truth of the doctrines then advanced, caxcernlng
the consequences of our Mint Regulations, is strongly confirmed
by the Reports of the Committees of Pectinate:at, as from them
we learn that Gold Coin could not be forced into droll:strut
the year 1816, the Public being unwilling to receive it
to the new system of coinage being acted upon; that Gold was
at that time under the Mint price, and the Exchanges with every
country in Europe favourable to es; that immediately after the
month of March, 1817, when our Silver Coin was fire thrown
into circulation, the price of Gold rose, the Exchangescalculated
in Gold Coin became unfavourable, and our Gold. Coin has been
ever since so eagerly sought after for exportation, that it has uni-
formly been purchased at a premium the moment it was issued
by the Bank ; and that the degree to which our Exchanges, cal.
eulated in Gold Coin, have been unfavourable, as well as the
price to which Gold Bullion has risen, has never exceeded
those limits which would have been the natural boundary of the
one and of the other, if our Silver Coin had circulated in abun-
dance without any Bank Paper. •
In further proof of the justice of the opinions recorded in those
Protests, it must also be observed, that though since the month
of March, 1817, when our Silver Coin was issued, Ole exporta-
tion of Gold has always afforded a profit, the importation of Sil-
ver has, on the other hand, as uniformly secured a profit to the
importer-tea situation of things which could only be occasioned
by the disparity of intrinsic value between our Silver and our
Gold Coin.
By the Committees of the two Houses it has indled been as-
sumed, that there has been of late an over issue of Bank Paper,
and under that impression this plan has unfortunately been adop-
ted; but had that been the case, we know from experience that
the Exchanges must lave been nominally unfavourable, whether
calculated in our Geld or our Silver Coln, and thit the exporta-
tion of Silver must have been attended with a profit, as well as
the exportation of Gold.
Besides, from the following Table of the Amount of Bank-
notes, of the Price of Gold Bullion, and of the State of the Ex-
changes, in the middle of each Quarter, since the sth of July,
1817, the hypothesis of the Committee must appear unfounded,
as it is apparent, that though the Notes of the Bank of England
have been diminished within a year and a half £4,432,547, that
is, fourteen seven-tenths per cent. no effect has been produced
corresponding to that which the doctrines of these Conunittees
would teach the Public to expect ;
TAU; INSWING ?US ANOI.III or tatiLiettfla., vas rasp or oot.n
.urn staves BULLION, AND =X seats 01 TUX NICHAIMIS, IX Tit
KUM= 0/ NACU WARM, SINCZ TUX STU 01 suLT, 1817.

g

........,
1117

Aug. 18
Nov. 15
Feb. 141
May 16
Aug. 15
Nov. 14
Feb. 13

a
Si
tZ
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30,112,661
3%446,087
98,742,826
27,985,869
26,603,937
26,026,540
25,680,114

.41
.c

4 0
4 0
4 2
4 1
4 1
4 2
4 1

1818

•
fieZendly.—Because, agreeing with
wino have ever treated upon the subject
Wile currency of a country is useful both u a measure of value,
and uan equivalent to circulate its commodities, I cannot but
reprobate a system of currency which tends, in my opinion, to
disqualify Our. coin from the due performance of either of
those duties.

That it will be disqualified from performing its duty u a
measure of value, seems to me incontrovertible ; for uniformity

throughout all its parts and subdivisions is the primary quality
necessary for the formation either of a measure of space, of di-
median, or of value. Yet the supporters of this plan themselves
acknowledge a gross want of uoifoemity in the measure or stan-
dard of value they have adopted ; as they admit the silver coin
to be disproportioned in Intrinsic value to the gold coin, though
silver coin, being a legal tender for forty shillings, must be the
measure resorted to in the payment of the wages of labour, and
in by fir the greatest number of other transactions.
To me it appears that there is no better why of illustrating
the absurdity 0 this novel system of constructing a measure of
value, than by supposing that a measure of dimension was formed
on a similar principal: we, should then have a pole sixty yards
long, each yard consisting of three feet, and each foot of twelve
inches, similar to the solid ingots of gold at 5e3.179.101td. which
are not to be issued in smaller quantities than 80 ounces ; we
should next have a foot, as the measure of all smaller dimen-
sions, accurately eleven inches long, similar to our silver cur-
rency, diminished in intrinsic value by a seignorage; and then,
to bar the possibility of all criticism upon the absurd and ruin-
ous consequences of such a want of uniformity, we should adopt,
as a safegliard, a regulation similar to that of making our silver
'coin ea/eget tender to the extent of only 40s. which of course
would be effected by enacting, that this diminished foot sheald
not be a lawful measure for any extent of dimension exceeding
two yards,
Again, P must think that, under this system one min mill bo,
equally disqualified from performing its duty as an equivalent,
in circulating the commodities of this mercantile country ; for,
regarding it in this point of view, the strongest recommendation
to a system of coinage is, that it ensures the possession of that
quantity of currency which the wants of the community render
necessary. Yet it is admitted by the authors of this system, that
the security from the injury to which the disproportion in the
value of our silver coin may give rise, is the power that Go-
vernment retains of making a scarcity of the coins of that metal;
and that our security for the possession of gold arises from the i
necessity the Bank will be under of making a scarcity of paper,
such as will, if possible, force gold coin to remain in circulation
along with silver coin of 9e per cent. less intrinsic value. So
that, far from securing to the Public the quantity of currency
which the wanes of the country may demand, it is avowed, that
under this system we can only acquire gold by an artificial
scarcity a paper, whilst we can only hope to retain it by an
artificial diminution of the mass of silver currency necessary (or
the conduct of our smaller payments.
Thirdly.—Because, ram of opinion, that an alteration in our
Mint regulations is a necessary preliminary step to the restore-
dos of our currency to a salutary state :oind 1 cannot doubt that
if the Mint proportions betwixt the chink of gold and silver were
assimilated to the market proportions of these metals, or it our
silver, coined at the old Mint price of Ss. Std. the ancient standard
of this country, was made the sole legal tender, and gold allowed
to circulate with an agio the Bank might at any time resume
payments in cash, with slimy to that establishment, without ex-
posing the country, in its present distressed Situation, to the den-
• Protest, on third reading of an A,ef (Seth Geo. ITT. e. 68.)
" to provide for a new Silver Coinage, and to regulate the Cur-
rency of the Gold and Siker Coinage of this Realm."
/Protest, oa third reading of ad Act for continuing to the
Sth July, 1819, the Act of thW 44th of his present Majesty, to
I continue the restriction contained in several Acts, on Papinatits
I of Cask by the Bank of England.

to d 4.1
Pw 1• G
31 1.1 Z
4cb" At 41 41
) 5 2 35,2 58
) .5 3 84,40 34, 586
1 65 4 24, 534 59
I 5 5 24,10 34 59
5 5 24,35 34,6 58&
1 5 5 23,70 33,8 526
5 7 23,80 33,8 58
all respectable authorities,
rt of money, that the me-