Star.
London, England, 1811-07-16 00:00:00

could not pay their rent in gold, who would take'
then) afterwards ? He would find no tenants—none
would live under such a landlord. Such would be
the effect of persevering in his notice. As to the
Bail he disapproved of it in every point of view.—
It in his estimation would have the effect of telling
the people that the notes were depreciated, and that
the Bank Directors could not demand twenty shil-
lings for every one of their pound notes, except
Parliament passed a bill for the purpose. The Bill
caight never to have been introduced; the corpo-
rate body of the Bank ought never to have been so
far identified with the Government, as each would
be with the other by the Bill before them. It'
crnnected the Bank with the Government, and sub-
jected the stability of the one to be affected by all
the revolutions and changes of the other. It too
would weaken the confidence of the people in the
Bank. The Government too might be most serious.
ly affected by such a connexion. If the Bank had
net assets to meet the demands, how were they to
be satisfied ? if the Government continued the sol-
vent branch, in the event of the Bank becoming in-
solvent, the solvent branch would be called upon.
T:ierefore, he contended, the Government might be
most materially and vitally affected by such an
identification. As to the effect of the Bill, more
injury had been done by the introduction of it, and
the consequent discussion, than could possibly be done
had all the landlords in the country issued notices si•
miler to that of Lord King, and even had those no-
tices been persevered in, to the utmost possible extre-
mity. The notices, he repeated, would have had,
comparatively speaking, no effect—it was physically
impossible to carry them into execution. The Bill
was wholly unnecessary and uncalled for. As to the
delays of justice that had been supposed, they were
absurd in the extreme ; and if they deserved any se-
rious notice, he should pronounce the observations to
be grossly libelious on the Administration of the jus-
tice of these realms. The Bill was injudicious and
impolitic The Ministers, in effect, told them that
by that Bill they wanted to uphold the Bank-notes.
The Pub'ic had at present confidence in the Bank,
but if it were to be connected with Government, that
was the only thing which would bring its credit into
jeopardy. If they would ostensibly mate Bank-notes
legal tender, then indeed might they be justly cern-
pared to the assignatt of which they had heard so
much. For the reasons which he had thus snortly
expressed he disapproved the Bill ; and he conjured
Ministers to pause awhile and look at the consequences
that must inevitably result froth the Bill then the sub-
ject of discussion.
Mr. ROSE could noo help expressing his astonish-
ment at the assertion which had been made by an
Honourable Gentleman who had spoken at so much
length in an early part of the debate (Mr. Brougham)
that the first principle of the Bull then before the House
would lead to the most pernicious consequences to the
country. So far was he from agreeing with this po-
sition, that he felt himself bound, atter a lair review
of all the circumstances which had led to the intro-
duction of the measure, to consider its first principle
to be a source of protection to the tenantry against
the harshness and injustice of their landlords—(Hear,
near.)—The Hon. Gentleman had proposed as a
means of supplying the deficiency of gold to send to
America, or to the Spanish and Portuguese settle.
traents, a more extravagant or more unaccountable
proposition than which he could scarcely have ima-
gined. Could the Hon. Gentleman be ignorant of
the fact, that those countries were already overbur-
thened with English manufactures ? or did he mean
to insinuate, that it would be proper to send out ves-
sels to take that by force which the state of com-
merce could not spontaneously produce ? But, even
admitting the possibility of attaining gold by such
means, he would ask, whether it were likely, sup-
posing five thousand tons were brought into the
country and coined into money, that that coin would
remain in circulation while the value of gold was 20s.
per ounce above the mint price ? It would be mon-
strous for one instant to entertain such an opinion,
and it must be evident to every Gentleman who
took the trouble to think at all, that such money
would be melted down as fast as it was issued.—
(Hear, hear.) There was not in truth one single
feasible or practicable measure proposed, which
could, by any possible means, supply the deficiency
in the gold circulation. Under these circumstances
he could not see how the Bank was to revert to
cash payments; and until some means was devised
of getting gold into the country, which could only be
done by a total change in the policy of the Continent,
he thought the only method that was left for the pre-
servation of the credit of the nation, was the conti-
nuance of the Bank restriction. (Near, hear.) Some
allusion had been made in the course of discussion
to an expression which had fallen from a Right Ho-
nourable Friend of his (the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer) as to the expediency of employing even the
" chicanery of the law," to avert the consequen-
ces of such a course as that which had been taken
by the Noble Lord (King) towards his tenan-
try, and some strong comments had been made on
this insinuation. Reluctant as he was,, however, to
approve of the chicanery of the law under any cir-
cumstances, he could not help thinking, tldat in a case
where the tenant thus became exposed to the wanton
oppression of his landlord, if the chicanery was at all
admissible, it would be on such occasions, and how-
ever unjustifiable in ordinary cases, it would then be-
come excusable to use every subterfuge which the law
would allow to evade an exaction so extremely severe.
With respect to the French astignat and the Bank of
England note, which were pronounced almost syno-
• nimous terms, he begged leave to say, that nothing
could be more opposite or so distant in their nature.
The former was issued by public authority, and to
any amount which the exigencies of the State might
require, while the latter was limited to a certain sum,
and issued only on good mercantile security, or by
„ loans to Government. Under the existing state of
things, therefore, and in the impracticability of find-
ing gold, or keeping down its price, he thought would
be utterly impossible for the Bank to return to its cash
paymenti, to force which, he contended, would be
only giving new weapons to the enemy to fight us.
In conclusion, he declared himself the hearty friend
to the measure which had been proposed, and pro-
nounced the soggestion of his Honourable Friend
(Mr. Brougham) chimerical, extravagant, and im-
practicable.
Mr. BROUGHAM shortly explained.