Star.
London, England, 1826-03-15 00:00:00

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.
S' tit in'atd ViCittit4irtf which it Was f
WA* iterera a nalmeisitedd it those Menthe
ouhregione etwhiels it was of Impirtenee that this
ahossid avail itself; and U from any narrow principle of r
Bak India Contra, should . he Induced to put a period '
teen which had heen 99 happily introduced, the Ira
it'creas"g, would trad9l4l4, loh into insignikance, and
prowet4 of advantage to ourselves, and of improvement in ...
groat empires with which the intercourse had been opened, would
at once-be cwt ulf aid disappear. To the facts already stated, his
Lord.hip added thesiontbst of scoria which had entered the port
in two years and a half had been 2,882, of which only 233 were
British property, or Commanded by British officers, and upwards
of 2.000 IMO* Rh Lordship concluded by moving, "An Ac-
count of tbri-mtports and imports of Singapore, daring the years
. 1821, 1•21, sotrine; rod, wigwam account of the damage each
yeoreallilikhltiog the:emsetries to which the vessels belong." Ord.
)*.• hlatiCtliti PSTITION.
arquis of LANSDOWN also presented a
petitaun in favour of the Promissory Notes 3tll, front
the Chamber of Commerce olManchester, and observed, that the
_ pretties of such a body of men, connected as they were with the
selfra, of agent of the country which had the advantage of enjoying
currency, must be regarded as of great importance in con-
..
litisMaestioa•
Tar .Eari of LAUDERDALE observe that the
"Gettlemen who had signed this Petition said that there
were no local notes hunk in Manchester, but the O'rculation of
Mancliediprineipally oentimed of notes issued at dia.-cent places
NM* eight, or nine milts of Manchester. lie held in his
band opeeimess of bee of these, which bad been issued within
twelett,sisiles of that town. These notes were even payable in
Manchester, where there were agents who were appointed for
the purpose of cashing them, afld they formed in fact, the principle
medium of circulation anlong the tradespeople of Manchester.
The )I.toquis of LANSDO ..VN said he had no local
knowlidpe of Manchester. The manufacturers had
evidently been sensible of the mischief attending the circulation of
honk news, and opposed themselves to the establishment of such
backs in the town, and had done every thing in their power to
Myr= the adoption of such a circulation.
The 'Earl of LIVERPOOL supported the statement
of the Noble Marquis. The opposition of the Merchants and
Traders in Lancashire to the Circulation of one-pound notes, ought
tcrinduce the Oahe to pass the Bill on their tabk,—The Petition
laid on the table.

PROMISSORY NOT! RILL.,
'The Earl of LIVERPOOL moved the creek of the
. day for the second reading of the Promissory Note Bill.
He should not long detain their Lordships, as he did
not expect any , oppositioa to the motion ; he should,
howeveir,,be ready to enter into explanation if required
.by any Noble Lord, upon particular points of the Bill.
The Bill was brought forward to put an end to the cit.•
ettfation of one-pound notes only in England. With
tespeci to 'Scotland and Ireland* it was his intention to move on
Friday for a Select Conuniuee, to inquire into the system of bank-
ing carried on there. He did not do this in consequence of any
change of opinionl but in hopes that the subject would be tho-
roughly invettigated ; and in the end. he bad no doubt but that It
would be seen, the proposed measure was highly desirable.
Lord CAIiNARKCIN objected to the Bill on two
grounds. rust. the time chosen for its introduction
was ill judged ; and secondly, a paper currency, founded
ppon a qietallic basis, was the most desirable one the
country could posiess. Upon both these points. he
should give the Bill his decided opposition. He depre-
cated the haste with Which this measure had been
intioifficed. The evil which had arisen from the pre-
cipitate introduction of the Bill was perceptible in the
eager wet with which a counteracting measure had
been brought forward in the other House. He con-
' . tl'it4ed..tllbt England bad beta as subject to the prep,
sure foistnaetctal embarrassments es any other king-
demoassit had suffered Reetely, both in its credit and
• enisSilente. at periods when mien no pipet currency
*Altera: Was It thee to be inferred, said the Noble'
Earl, that the patricvdrich -had agitated the money
padlcet.of late hmi its origin in the over issuing of paper?,
the ye,aril7o3S, when that* was no encoded paper
Axe fancy, the,cistrese was as great as at the present,
:• rod if the present measure was persevered in, the evils
would be considerably augmented. In thine days,
r"itvben a paper currency was substituted for a metallic
bne, every person felt the convenience of paper, and it
was ,a lift, strongly corroborating the necessity of
,Piiiitir„iitat gold bad afforded the greatest inducements
for highwaymen and others to plunder the bearers of
that coin. Since the adoption of notes, the highway-
,
m.o. had decamped, and his absence was to be attri-
buted mine to the czistence of piper than to the im-
provements of our Police. Upon a consideration of
these points, he thought that no case had been made
out to warrant the passing of the Bill, and particularly to those
coentries which had done nothing to deserve such an arbitrary in-
terference. To extend the fatal effects of a wild speculation to those
who were guiltless of the distress which had emanated from it, was
inhuman in the highe.t degree. He called upon their Lordships to
shut up, what be considered was, their Pandora's Box, and pause
. ere they consented to fetter the commerce of its country ; though*
in kis opinion, every step taken in this measure would be taken In
vein. anti those who had stepped forward to assist in the measure
would be ultimately compelled to retrace their steps. Ile concluded
by moving as an amendment. that the Bill be read a second time
that day six months.
Lord DARNLEY said, his Majesty's Ministers did
but do their duty in stepping forward to protect the
ee.intey from the effects of the errors into which it had
fallen. His Lordship observed, that whether the other
measures recommended to the Government that night,
would in the end answer, he was not prepared to say; but he was
of opinion, if Ministers had adopted the issue of Exchequer bills,
the measure would have been more easy, and have acted more
iapidly through the country. Ile had no objection to give the
present measure his support.
. Lord LIMERICK thcught it WAS impossible that a
recurrence of bank failure could take place in Ireland, owing to the
great principle upon which the banking system was now carritd on
in the South; not merely penonal, but landed property to a great
amount, and involving numbers of the most respectable individuals
were surety to the public for the payment of their noted.
The Earl of LIVERPOOL —B:fore entering upon
the question, now before the House, f think it my duty,
not to allow the observations which fell from the
Noble Lord, who spoke last but one, relative to the re-
lief which Government ought to have afforded, to pass
without some comment. I can astute your Lordships.
that that relief was not refused from any attachment to
preconceived opinions, or from any desire to stand firm
it) the pledge which I had previously giver.; but from
a conviction that it would be prejudicial and mischie-
mph and if ever I have been happy enough to tender
any little service to my country, or any assistance or
benefit to the commercial community, I never rendered
more, to the best of my belief, than by resisting the call
for Exchequer Bills. When it is admitted on all hands,
that the late distress has arisen from overtrading, if Go-
veinnient bad set the example again of doing the same
thing, great mischief would have ensued—the piece-
dent would have been constantly appealed to, and the
ref y remedy have proved a means of bringing on the evil.
A Noble Lord has übseived that the relief afforded has
been the same in principle, *bough diffeienL in Prim.
tice ; but I Leg to observe, on the other hand, that it is
diffei tut bo h in principal and in practical effect. I
have no difficulty in saying, that the ground of secrecy
. on which Exchequer Bills were so eagerly serwht, was
• a great and paiamount objection to such a mode of re-
lief, inasmuch as it tended to entourage future specu-
lation, and one main reason for ad 'piing that which

tion from Manchester, whether they had any wish
fyr secrecy ? and they declared that they had not
the smallest, that they were ready to receive relief
in whatever way it might be deemed proper to afford
it. It was, however, much better that the great Bank
of the country should do what it was authorised to do
by its charter, by the I I w, and in the regular course of
business, than that Goveinment should again interfere.
If the Bank head been placed in difficulties by G itern-
mem, so as to be unable to afford the desited relief,
then it would have been the duty of the latter to have
set its shoulder to the wheel—to have come forward
and done its best for the relief of the country. Three
years ago, an application of the same kind, on the part
of the West India interest, was made, and was resisted.
The course which his Majesty's Government has pur.
sued is all our own: it may be right, or it may be
wrong. I think we have adopted the right course. If
we had adopted the other course, we should have re-
leased ourselves from some Parliamentary difficulties
anclembarrassments ; but those o e f. 1t it our duty to
encounter for the purpose of doing that wl ich we con-
scientiously believe to be i ight. The Noble Lord (Car-
•narvon) has eulogized the paper currency, and enume-
rated the advantages which it possesses over a metallic
currency, but there is one observation of the Noble Lord
which I cannot avoid taking notice of—in the first place,
.the Noble Lord has told. your Lordships that a metallic
circulation would be an encouragement to the high-
wayman, and that we should have as many engaged in
that way as we had before the existence of the one and
21. Bank notes. Upon that subject I certainly ought to
feel interested, for I was a sufferer in that way when a
school-boy—and a sufferer can best know the inconve-
nience,but I certainly cannot think that the inconvenicice
will arise when I look back to ttle experience of the last
four or five years, during which there were no 11. notes
in the metropolis, and all persons travelling either to or
from the metropolis had either sovereigns or gold pieces
of some description. (Hear.) I think, my Lards, that
the great evil of which the Noble Lord is so apprehen-
sive, has been, in a great measure, got rid of by a
system which originated during the time that I had
the honour to hold the seals for the Home Department—
a system which has been since considerably i mproved—
I mean the general police of the Metropolis ; but even
that system, good as it is, would not probably have
produced the effect, if it had not been connected with
the general enclosure of the Commons throughout the
country. The Noble Earl argues, as if he supposed,
that the effect of this measure will be to put a stop
to all speculation, to all enterprise, to all over-
trading. Now, my Lords, his Majesty's Govern-
meet do not suppose that the measure will produce
that effect. Indeed, past experience has shown that
enterprise, speculation, and over•trading. may exist
with a metallic currency ; but the opinion of the King's
government is, as I have already had the honour of stat-
ing to this House, that this measure is a good measure,
but that it could not 'produce the goad effect anticipated,
with the mutt oductioo of a more substantial system of
Banking—without the other measure which I had the
honour of submitting to your LordAips, which your
Lordships have adopted, and which is naw in progress
in the otbar House of Parliament. The Noble Lord
says, why not have the one and two pound Bank notes
on the same footing as they exist in Scotland. • Bat, I
say, that if we have any part of the Scotch system, we
must have the whole of it. What, I ask your L srd•
ship*, is that system ? In Scoland, they have a limited
comber of Banks, and the whole business of the country
is carried on by the agents of the bankers, acting as a
check upon each other Out that cannot be done in Eng-
land, for there the Bank of England is in the way. But
even suppose we had arrived at the year 1833, when the
exclusive privilege of the 13 ink of England will expire,
I say, it would be impossible to adopt a system of that
kind ; every one who knows this courts.), must be sa,
tisfied that when the exclusive privilege of the Bank of
England shall be done away with, the formation of
Joint Stock Companies through the country will extin-
guish the great evils, by introducing a more solid sys-
tem of banking. I do not look upon the extinction of
the small notes as a complete cure for overtrading—
as a eotoplete cure for speculation, but I lot.k upon it
as a most important check to overtrading and specu-
lation. In all the conversations which I have had with
country bankers, and with the several deputations, I
have found that all the more wealthy, all the more sub-
st 441 bankers said, that theme and two pound notes
wore scare ly an objet', that they would be as well
th
..
en out them, if a general law to that effect was to
exist; and, indeed, my Lord., we have seen, by the late
proceedings or the wealthy and the substantial bankers,
that the issue of one and two pound notes is not a mea-
sure for. which they manifest any peculiar regard
though,' do think it is otherwise with the lesser bankers
—they exist by this circulation—it makes their profits ;
and I think, when it is extinguished, that a more solid
system of banking will I e introduced, and there will s of
be that great number of small banks which are produc-
titre of great inconvenience to the counts'', and which-
endanger the stability 01 the great ones. With respect
to the circulation of the country, I mnst take this oppor-
tunity of stating a fact with which, perhaps, A 3 lily of
your Lordships are unacquainted. In LOndon and Lan-
cashire, the currency, with the exception of attempts
which have been of late made in the latter place. to
force into circulation the notes of the adjoining
counties, has for the last three or four years been me-
tallic—(Hear, hear).—When this fact is considered,
it may, perhaps, appear singular enough that the cus-
toms of the ports of London and Liverpool amount to
three-fourths of the customs of all England; that' the
customs of the port of Liverpool alone ate nearly at?
much as the customs of all England, with the excep-
tion of London, and that the excise of those two plaies
amounts to three-fifths of the excise of all *gland.
When I see that the business of those two great limbs.
(as I may justly call them) pf the empire is carried
.0n by a metallic currency,' I cannot see where the
difficulty of making that currency general can rest.
The Noble Lord supposes that the existence of a me-
tallic currency will produce a serious ei injurious effect
upon the interests of the agricultural population. I ask
the Noble Lord did not such a currency exist in all parts,
commercial and agricultural, befote the year 1797?
Did it then produce the inooovenienciss apprehendedby
the Noble Lord ? I believe the party most beneficed
in this way, if benefit can arise from net being subjected
to lo,ss were the agricultural; and that, from the stop-

igtlthoughAtit, perhaps,
, were mostly experienced in
. I cement thinks my Lord.
strafaineil his gfonnd cif oppn-
are not Nri, my Lords, trying any
reverting te the state of the currency
Anse pound notes, ne small notes,
may years before. I admit
_..e, unaccompanied by others, would n..t be
bet accompanied with other measures, I am satisfied
that it must produce great good.
The E irl of LAUDERDALE thoroughly agreed in*
many of the positions lai I down by the Noble Earl
near him, still he felt himself called on to say a few
words. The Noble Earl opposite (Liverpool) seemed
to rely mainly on the difference between the English
and Scotch system of banking ; and when preserd to
adopt the Scotch system, he said, a Nn, 1 can't;" and
he (Lard Lauderdale) could tell their Lordships why;,
because the establishments in Scotland were founded on
the best of all systems, that which had stood the test of
ages—they were raised on thrtspirit of confidence which
pervaded all ranks in that country. To give the people
of England the same confidence would be impossible.
The attempt to establish it would have just the same
success that attended the drill made to force our Con-
stitution, the best certainly in the world, on other coun•
tries. Such an a..tempt had been made in S'cily and
Corsica ; and their Lordships no doubt recollected
how fo..lish was the effort, and how utterly it failed.
The fact was, that different systems were adapted
to the state of .society in the different countiies
When the subject of the Scotch Banks came more imme-
diately before the House, he would be prepared to satisfy
their Lordships that 38,0001. was the •full amount of
the loss which Scotland suffered from the failure of her
Banks during the last century. He entertained no ob-
jection to the principal of the measure then under con-
sideration, and was ready to admit, that in agreeing to
' it, their Lordships would not go even so far as a return
to the state of the circulation in 1796; but he diff red
wholly from his Majesty's Ministers in the selection of
the period for introducing the present measure. So far
from deeming the present an opportune moment, he
thought the announcement of the measure had the
effect of increasing the panic, for since the meeting
of Parliament, . when it was officially declared that
confidence was re toted, the crisis had become more
alarming, and he had no doubt but the Noble Earl
opposite would live' to see it still worse. That
Noble Earl thought that because the course of ex-
change had turned against this country, it was all to
be attiibutel to an over-issue of paper; surely the
Noble Eat must be aware that there ate various other
causes which were sufficient to produce the same result.
It might, for instance, be caused by the balance of trade
or of payments being unfavourable to us, as well as by
a depreciation of the currency ; and there were certain
unerring marks by which it could be ascertained what
thereal causes were. If the rates of exchinges were
examined, as they appeared in the papers laid on the
table of the House, it would be found that they had not
exceeded that per centage; that it might not have arisen,
for the balance of trade being against us,. in his opinion.
it was impossible that an alarming depreciation of the
cutreitcy could ever take place in this country, whilst
bankers were obliged to pay their notes in gold. He
was convinced, that if, after the failure of the insolvent
banks, the evil :were allowed to work its,own cure, the
country would enjoy more security for the future. It
was always better he thought, when the• country got
into a scrape; to let her get out of it without tampering
with her estabti-hni nos... regretted the occasion
selected by the Noble g,sati tbeintrodoceoa of his
measures rather than their ptimeiple; and he trusted
that the Noble Earl, when. he-brought hit proposition
relative to the,§cutcli, Addis, "Kidd bt pr. pared to reconcile it
with his former °pinioning that subject.
The Earl of LIVERPOOL perfectly recollected the distinction
which he hal drawn between the condition of the Scotch and Eng.
lisp banking system. But when the proper time of discussion
arrived, he expected the Noble Earl would be able to show him
bow the present Scottish Banks could go en, according to the old
plan, without any connection with the British Banks and the Bank
of England.

Ifkiini

The Earl of LAUDERDALE. hoped to be able to show, that
during the late struggles the Scottish banks had at least no recourse
to England for assistance. lie knew that one of them had received
in parcels of 10,000 at a time, to the amount of 100,000 sovereigns
from this country ; but he also knew that more gold was, during
the late crisis, drawn from Scotland into England, than bas sent
from England to Scotland.
In answer to a question from the Earl of DARNLEY.
The Earl of LIVERPOOL said, that care would be taken to
have weekly returns of the small notes issued during their permitted
time of circulation. He could also assure their Lordship., that the
Bank of England had no desire to keep their small watts in circu-
lation, and that it was with great reluctance they bad brought
themselves to send them out during the panic in the month of
December.—The bill was then read a sd time, and the House Adj

•
HOUSE OF COMMONS,
A Person from the East India Dock Company brought up a
return of the Annual Disbursements of that Company.—Laid on
the table.

Sir E. ENATCHBULL preeented a.Petition from the Western
part of Kent, praying for a further reduction in the duty on Malt;
which, after a few words from Mr. Watas, in opposition to the
l'etition, was ordered to be printed.
Mr. FIX :%1 I N presented a Petition from the General Union
Benefit Society of Portsea, praying the House not to make may
alteration in the Laws relating to Benefit Societies.—Laid on
the table.
Sir It PARNELL presented a Petition from an individual of
the Ciry of Dublin, praying the House to interfere in his behalf
with thy Corporation of that City ; he had been denied the free-
dom of the City by that Body, to which he was fairly entitled,
having gone through all the necessary forms and regutitions pre-
scribed by them ; hut nevertheless he had been refused the freedom
of the city.—Laid on the table.
nir. P. M ACQUKEN presented a Petition from the Coroners
of the county of Bedford, praying for an increase of their fees.—
Laid on the table.
Mr. J. SMITH presented a Petition front the Bankers of the
City of London, praying the .House to take into consideration the
new Bankrupt Bill which had been introduced by an Hon. Gen-
tleman not long ago. The Petitioners, he said, were fully aware
of the great benefit that would accrue to the whole commercial
interest of this country. and they therefore prayed the House to let
it pass into a law as soon as possible.
Mr. BRIGHT was glad that kis measure Was approved by the
respectable body of Gentlemen from whom the Petition had
emanated. He sincerely hoped that the Bill he had brought for-
ward Would meet with the unanimous sanction of the House. A
Merchant, he said, could not survive the disgrace of coming under
the present Bankrupt Laws, which disgrace tended to render him
inert as to retrieving tie lows and again becoming a useful mem-
ber efeoctety, because he was sure that be, would always have the
Anger of scorn pointed at him. His Bill, be contended, would
throw a different light upon transactions of that kind.
Mr. ELkIS (of Dublin) supported the Petition, and highly
approved of the prayer of the Petitioners.
Mr. J. ShilTki and kIr.'BRIG HT both expressed their san-
gainewapeetatiens of the benefits that would arise from the pro-
posed alteration of the law existing between debtor and creditor.
Mr. LOCKHART said that the Bill his Hon. Friend had in-
troduced would remedy, monist other things, a clause which bad
been inserted by the Lord Chancellor, but which bad been very
much objected to.
The Pedtion was laid ea the table and ordered to be printed.
Mr. F. BUXTON moved for various returns relating to Sla-
very, Slave Population, kc. in the Mauritius and othet places.—
Ordered.
Mr. CALVERT presented a Petition from the inhabitalt4 of
Hudson, against Slavery.—Ordered to be printed.
Mr. DICKINSON resented a Petition from the inhabitant

• has been grantikkwas, that it oitakttd kre known to whom page ar dist hanks, the suffe,iin
. .
tunas placed.* relief was alfordat thas‘e lien Millyetspectable Orions if:m.6440 aOcuios of losses) if
nitaastve sod papa.' ea this iebieer, said atm* btfiets,th*Oentlemen dot's. „agricultural distritts. 1
e that this eeeenu'Y Posiatibm eleputitioa frosts *Gl:tasters and I bate than the Noble Lord h 44 sulfa
nsiPie of Paoli theAlletrlac 4t0514 the" ,wheat uprig4t Oct4o94and holm idol ite this measure. W& are no
a period to the sys-14 - . ~ I
see esperiment. We aril revertin
intend.% existed, there was any objection to the •
trade so tar (ruin, to 1797, when we had no4tis
ngsbuy a metalll c currency, for
Vance, and alt the ielief which tai hen -afforded- being shrew in a
novenient in those public manner. I put the question to the depute- that this measure alone, unacciomps
ern opeeede 'wo uld°l ti t flOilt 51ancheitet, whether they had any wish practivabk, bat accompanied with of
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