Star.
London, England, 1811-07-05 00:00:00

have Ito.ettresivety good effect. The restriction of
the Bank of England issues might not prevent the ex-
eessive issues of papersby private banks, and the evil
might still go on increasing. There was, he believed,
remedy but payments in cash. As to the asset-•
Lion, that those who thought with him were the irists,
and that the opinions of practisal men were against
them, he had to observe, that their opinions were to
be estimated by the circumstances tinder which they
were given. Mole the restriction, the opit.ion of Mr.
Giles, tie. late Bank Director, and other eminent
practical men, were clearly convinces! of the neces-
sity of cash payments—but when it became the in-
terest of practical men to hold a contrary opinion,
they changed accordingly. His Lordship proceeded
to state, diet when the measure of Bank Restriction
was first agreed to, all men joined in rei'retting it.—
Ile was surprised, however, to observe, the Minis-
ters of the present day did not concur with Mr.
Pitt, in regarding this as calamitous in an extreme
degree, but as a circumstance which had enabled
the country to make the exertions she had made.
If so, would it not be- consi&red as an argument
rjeally strong, that if the issues of Bank Paper
were continued in an increased degree, thet the coun-.
try would thereby be enabled to make still greater
exertions. Noble Lords on the other side considered
this to be the system on which the salvation of the
country mainly depended. There were persons emeng
the Administration, whose opinions as this subject he
was particularly anxious to hear. The opinion of the
Noble Secretary, for instance (Wellesley), who, f n a
former oceasi n, in such glowing colours, contrasted
the compulsory state of the paper currency of France
with the unrestrained cerrency of this country.he was
extremely desirous of hearing, hoping that the ex-
treme difference between the two measures would be
made apparent. He had also been given to under-
stand, that the idea that Bank-mites should be con-
vertible into money was the offspring of barbarous
times. He was anxious to know how this could be
made out ; and he was therefore desirous that Minis-
ters should have an opportunity of bringing out the
present Bill in the most perfect way they could de-
vise. He conceived this to be a most important mea-
sure. When originally proposed by his Noble Friend
(Earl Stanhope), Ministers were pleased to represent
it as one wholly ennecessary, and it was only from
what had fellowed, coming from the side of the
Mouse on which he sat, that Ministers had thought
the measure either necessary, or at all worthy of their
support. What opinion was this holding mu to the
country of themselves ? Was it not to sey. " We
Have no opinion as to what is good or bad for the coun-
try, and can form it only from what you say on the
subje:cir That the country should, at such a mo-
ment as the present, be reduced to such a state from
the want of all mind in its Ministers, he could ,not
consider but as truly deplorable. Th,t Ministers
should now support a measure which they derrn?d
wholly unnece.sary, merely because it met with the
disagprobation of those who were in general oppos-
ed to them, he confessed himself utterly at a loss
to reconcile to any principle either of utility or of
sound policy. He was decidedly of opinion, from
.hat he could collect from the experience of ever y
other part of the globe, that the only remedy which
remaThed was the resioring of payments by cash.—
He hoped, therefore, that Ministers would still pon-
der hvfore they gave effect to a measure ‘014:11,
as had already been found in France, could not he
resorted to without the danger of ruin. Ii they pet-
severed in the present measure, he should esteem
himself called on to resist it more than any other
which could be devised, conceiving it to be most
pregnant with mischief.
Lord ROSS, alluding to what had fallen from the
l'elOble Earl on a former night, said, if the notes of
the Bank of England were depreciated, and those of
the Bank of Scotland were not, how did it happen
/hat the rate of elellatigC was not turned against
England, which was not the case ? It was agreed,
that if the notes of the Bonk of England alone were
taken into consideration, there was no depreciation ;
and that the depreciation' only a'rose front the Coun-
try Bank-notes. It was, therefore, at any time in the
power of the House to apply a remedy, by limiting
the issue of Country Bank-notes. Supposing, there-
fore, that the Bank Restriction Act had never taken
;lace, the Country might still have been in the same
situation from the excess of Country Bank-notes.
The Earl of LA'IJDERDALE rose to put him-
self right with the House. He contended that he was
accurate as to what he had said relative to Scotland,
and that there the banks were liable to pay in specie,
in the same manner as they were previous to the year
1796. So much as to matter of fact, there being no
clause in the Bank Restriction Bill, which could be
construed •to extend to the Bank of Scotland. AS to
the question, how it was to be accounted for, that no
depreciation, of the rate of exchange had thus been
produced against England, lie could only suppose
this to have proceeded treat the circumstance, ',hat no
landlord had made a derae.nd of payment in gOld till
this year. He himself had long seen that it was in
the power of any man, if he chose it, to make all the.
Banks in Scotland stop payment. He had known
SOO guineas received in one payment, from a Dank in
Scotland, within a short period.
The House then went into a Committee, when the
original Clauses in are Bill were agreed to, with some
technical amendments.
• The Eail of LIV E ItPOOL said lie was satisfied
that in framing the Act of the year 1797, an omission
had occurred, purely from inadvertency, in the clause
protecting persons from arrest where a tender of the
debt was made in notes of the Bank of England. He
'had no doubt it was fully meant that this should ex-
tend to distresses for rent also. As the law now stood,
though no arrest could take place where a tender of
the debt was made in Bank-notes, still the. party might
refuse to accept of it, and might proceed in his action.
This he meant now to extend to cases of distress for
rent; and to provide that, though where, in such cir-
cumstances, the summary process must stop where a
tender in Bank-notes wasmade,still the landlord might
go on with his legal remedy, ifhe chose it, till he should
see how far that would avail him.
The clause being put, was agreed to.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE thought that
',owe limit should be put to the issues of parer by the
rank. He therefore proposed-a clause limiting the
future issues of the Bank to the sum to which they
should be found to amount on the Ist of July, 1811.
. The Earl of LIVERPOOL saw no evidence of
any excessive issues and thought that to specify a limit,

might produce inemenience. The issues of the'
Bank had been increased last year, in consequence of
die failure of a number of ce•.intry Banks ; when the
evils thereby felt, however, were dune away, the issues
of the Bank were reduced, and in February of the ,
present year were under their necessar y amount. Tu
make she extent of the prdsent issue, therefore, a cri-,
terion from which to judge of what inight be the
proper amount, would be by no means expedient.—
For the purpose of guarding the ptiblic, however, as
much as possible, he should propose a clause, limit-
ing the endurance of the present Bill to the 25th of
March, 1812, so that, if it be renewed, it mightat an
early period become subject to Parliamentary enquiry.
EaTlSTANHOPEsubmitted that smuelimit should
be put, even though it should•extend to one, two,
or three millions beyond the present amount.
Lord HOLLANDconceived that theclause should
at least be introduced into the Bill, to allow the House
to judge of it as well as of the other provisions of the
Bill, when it should be printed in its amended state.
Earl LIVERPOOL said, he should move that the
Bill be recommitted, that it be printed as amended,
and that a day be then appointed for taking it into
consideration.
Lord HOLLAND still submitted that this clause
was as well entitled to full consideration as any other
clause that might be introduced into the Bill could be.
The question on this clause was put and negatived.
Lord LIVERPOOL moved` a clause, limiting the
endurance of the Bill to the '2sth March 1812, which
was agreed to, after a few words from
The LORD CHANCELLOR, who thought that
if the Act of the year 1797 was to be continued, it
would be an oppression on the subject of this country
not to give him the relief proposed by the present Bill.
A conversation took place between Lords Stan-
hope, Redesdale and Livtrpool, as to the wording of
the preamble of the Bill, when is was at length
agreed to, and the Report was ordered to be received
to-morrow. Adjourned.