Star.
London, England, 1816-06-19 00:00:00

W'

. •
belonged to no Society ; bnt be fill hoped that
should one day be enabled to give a successful 4.7,
in favour of the object which all the societies
which he had belonged h.td in view.

Mr. BRAND then brought up a Petition
t.e.
certain Members of the Cori or. (4 the town
Abcrdeefi, and a Petition from otter cit.zei,v,
Members of the Corporation, and the Ilhabitants
the Vicioity, bolt which were read, and ordered te;.n
en the table.

BRoUGHAM said, he held in his hat:dist,:
Petition to the same import, signed by upw.irds;
10,000 persons of the populoos City of Gusiteip,'
which was no more represented in that House thsak
that City consisted only of b ire walls with
growing on the streets. While many places ..vitit fear
or no inhabitants bad two, and some tv:rif,3ll),,.
presentatives its the House, that great City had,
elt
one-fourth part of a Representative is the finrouraf
Member below (Mr. finlay), who, no (!,,dbt, ve„
ably represented it and three other ll:Alight. V,
Petitioners complained .of their bring sprkrn of
reprtlented in Pailia!oent, and they conLitierei,t,inz,
as the strongest case in fav,,ur of P-A,rni. sm.
land, even in the largest c'Ainties, there wAsauda,
in the heist like a popular represenriti: n. The ahei:
country might be representi_d by peist,ns tholud
nut one foot of land in the country—it might hi%
presented by 4.5 persons, in Change-alley. rut cis
a state of rercs2iitAzion so monstim,s as Z., (41
loudly for reform. l'-'l:..tever senti4-Jents
nuer rained respectin7 ref,:rni in the case CI L0A1.r,4,
he had never braid out of the House oae single d„,
sentient voice as to recessity of a Itch= it
Scotland.—The Petition was then read, and ardent
to lie on the table.

BANK CAPITAL BILL.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
moved the third reatiing cf the Beek Capital
Mr. GRENFELL said, he eouhl not meter
suffer this Bill to go through its lest stage, wiieeut
availing himself of the opportunity to al Gnce !tee-
the attention of the House to the exorbitant pros
the Bank had been making during the last nineteen
years, and were now making, at the expense of d'e
public. He should confine his observations to their
conduct as Public Contractors, and not aliude to their
conduct as Bankers"; in the late transactions beteese
Government and the Bank, but whether this was
owing to their generosity or the discussions eleds had
taken place, he would leave the House to determine,
he trusted that a feeling had been created in the pub.
lic mind, which would finally put an end to the
system of extravagance on the part of Government,
and of rapacity on the part of the Bank, which were
without example in the history of this or any other
country. What, he would ask, was the amount of
profits of the Bank during the last nineteen years,
arising out of the Restriction Act and the Con-
s tracts with Government t In 1797, after time Back
had been in existence as a Corporate Body fur a
I Century, the Proprietors never heard of a Bonus—
having at no time received any thing beyond their
annual interest. In 1695, the ai.nual dividends were
eight per cent. wlech was nearly the r ate of iotere.t
in these -leys. From 1730 to 1799, they never es.
seeded seven per ceet. but flectuated between dee
and so low es 4i per e:nt. In 1797, the B ink wiee
possessed of a surplus of 43,826,890. With thistle),
then started. Since 1797, he spoke practically, Lay.
ling as a proprietor participated in all the advanteges,
bonuses, acc. had been divided amongst the preprie-
! tors, over and above the annual dividend of seem
per cent. to the amount of sixty-one per not. el
£7,101,864. Beside:, these bonuses, they had re.
-ceived the present one of £2,910,600 additional Bank
Steck, which at the present m rrket price was equi.
valent in Bank-notes to 5e6,403,320 ; se that the whole
of the bonuses divided among the proprietors arnotne
ted to x8!3,505,164. In addition to this profit acv.
ally realized, it was known that there must renalln
behind an enormous mess of surplus not divided.
This was shewn by the price of Bank Stock. It
had risen since 1797, from 120 to 220, and was Ogee-
fore 100 per cent. higher in value new that iu 17":47,
which was equivalent to £1141.'2,400. It this suns
were added' to the thirteen millions of bonuses, it
would make their whole malts, since 1797, antouet
to twenty-five-millions. But it would be necesesty to
deduct the profits when they started in 1797, bring
Cre526,890, and there would remain a: the poet
made in nineteen years R 21,320,694, being in -these
nineteen years about seven times as much as the
whole profit made during the whole preceding cen-
tury. How had these profits been made? Tee!
had arisen wholly out of the suspension of cash Fe-
meats and government con:Tecte.—(l-har, hear.)
These profits had gone cn increasing with the dIfF.-
cultic's of the Country. Every new Tax had a tee-
dency to increase their profits. A very considerable
proportion of these enormous profits, belonged to fo-
reigners residing in Holland, America, and Switzer.
land. The proportion of Stock belonging to to-
reignete could wily be ascertained by an inspectiea
of their hooks ; but the proportion of names tees
known. By the list of the Ist if April, it appi:Artsi,
that of between 2200 and 2300 Proprietors, no less
than one-tenth were foreigners; and if their Stock
was in proportion, one-tenth of the prof is
abroad. If the" Bank sent our manufactures abroad,
or were the means of circulating the produce of the
industry of the country, the enorrnqus sums ehich
were Reid to them might admit of some justifies: ioe ;
but they encouraged no manufacture but that ef
paper, which Government allowed them to carry as
to any extent. Their only expeditions were to ll:exit-
ing-street, and back again. He did not blame tie..
Directers so much as he did the Government of the
Country—not the present—bat every Goyernmeet.
As long as lie had a seat in the house, till the system
was fundamentally and radically thanged, he pledged
himself not to. omit deieg every thing in his power to
put an end to what he conceived unfair advAntage to
the Bank, and ii.jury to the Public.
The CHANCE it of the EXC FIEQUE
said the arrangement before the House wai one re-
specting which lie the least expected any ditterei ce of
opinion. The Bank hat; lent a large eten of mute)!
to Government on thn most advantageous terms, and
all that they now asked was the pewer of converting
a surplus sum into additional stock, which they could
have divided among the proprietors without the con-
sent of Parliament. Against this arrangement no
grounds whatever had been" stated.
Mr. GRENFELL explained.
t Ir. PONSONI3Y animadverted on the improvi-

60
the
Grp
the,

•C • , 1 •
dent amine of Government in iorransacttots *ith
the Bank, and complimented, his Hon. Friend, (Mr.
Greaten) for the exertions he had made in behalf of
the public.
Lord A. H.i'st ILT6N observed, that not one
fact stated by his Honourable Friend, either on the
,r any former occasinn, had ever been cootro.
Vieetjat :
I However, having incurred the mischief, all
bef could do now was to say. tbat no profits what.
t 7 p-r cent should be divided among
exceeding !. •
ever
the proprietors till the removal of the suspension of
at payments ,• and the Noble Lord concluded by
proving a clause in that effect.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
opposed the clause.
Lord A. HAMILTON explained.
Mr. THORNTON objected to the clause, on the
pad that it would take out of the hands of the
Bank the managetbent of their own affairs. He con-1
• feted tl:e language of the Hon. Gentleman op-11
extu.
poke (Mr. Grenie:l) rath.er intemperate.
Mr. DROUGIIM•I said, the objection of the Ho.
seueithie Director was very extraordinary, since he
had never opposed the Bills which from time to time
hat altogether taken out of the hands the Bank the
p 0 wer of paying their creditors, and which formed
en interference most direct and unprincipled. When
Bills of this descriptitin had been proposed year after '
tear they hid not been opposed by the Bank Dim.
toter These Gentlemen had professed their rep ret at
04-interference, but they had, nevertheless, always
d cenclode.by voting in favour of the measure. 'l't.e
only proposed that so long as the Banksltcl-
data!
teed •itteif behind an Act of Parliament, from its
atoms; it shot'ld be limited as to the profits which
it should bi suffered to divide, but that whatever
• profits were made beyond a certain per tentage,
should be suffered to accumulate till they were again
pt upon the same boating as other debtors.
Mr. GRENNELL and Mr. S. THORNTON explained.
The clause was negatived.
PIRA riCAL STATES OF ApilICA.
Mr. BROUGHAM rose, according to notice, to
move tor pipers relating to the late negotiations
retried on in the Mediterranean, under the sanction
asd by the intervention of our Naval Commander in
that sea, Lord Exmouth. The result of those nego.
ciations had been, as be was informed, treaties
between the Neapolitan and Sardinian Governments
and the Dcy of Algiers, with all the pat ticulars of
which he was not acquainted. But this much was
blown, that the two first mentioned powers had
agreed to ransom their subjects who were slaves at
a large sum per captive, and in consideration of a
farther large sum per year, the Alg lines were to
abstain from capturing tl:e subjects of thaw.; powers
without a formal aiaratian of hostilities. 'fnese
facts were the grounds on which he rested his motion,
• for if the country are a psrty in any shape, and
saactiened by its authority, especially the case of
allies so completely under our haluence as Naples
and Sardinia, it gave a sanction to piracy. It was
wither more nor less than saying to those pirates—
• You may make as many captives as you please
from other Powers, and you may hope from the
example of these Treaties to receive ransom for
them under the sanction of Great Britain. (Hear,
kar.) It gave a permission, by inference, to the
Algerines to commit depredations on all other states
who might have their territories burned and plun-
dered, and their subjects carried off slaves. ( Hear.)
The fact, 4:deed, Was, that the Algerines fixa been
disgusted by this abridgment of what they ceeceivei
Ilwir natural rights, and had been guilty of excesses
as the occasion. The Dey, however, had appeased
ran, by representing to them that a wide field was
rail open to them ; chat all flags at sea, besides the
Sicilien and Sardinian, and the Roman and 'Tuscan
crest% were subject to their depredations. On the
Tueten and Roman coasts, especially the Territory
et Rome, the depredations of the pirates had in fact
touch tacreaseJ, and the al trrn was indJscribabie.-
1-I..iuse could ;lot c:.nsisteoily take measures fed
the ex npalion 01 the fi itiei Sieve Trade, without
any effort to put a stop to a Slave fraJe exceedioe
even that exec; able trairt.: in hor:nr. For, bad as th::
African Slave l'rade was, the Stave TraJets weir
civilised beings ; but in t!..1-• :Pave l'ride 44 the Me-
diterranean, the Traders w nub Toe treat-
ment of the an istian -es in A,1%.:s V‘.P.S 50 pro-
verbial, that it was necessary to shork- the
House with d tans ; 'sititi from an account which had
receraly been published by a Naval Gentleman of tie
name of Cruber, W:7O was an eyc.witness of the mi.
series of these %%retched being*, i, appealed that the
cruelty practised towards them even exceeded in
enormity what was generally imagined. When this
Gentleman was at Algiers, there had been 300 cap-
tives brought on shore, or whom 59 died of ill usage
within a few days aster the': -'ere landed, and7o within
a fortnight. The wre-tchee: survivors were kept on a
scanty subsistence of apc of bread, which was
scarcely eatable, and a very small quantity of water a
day. Thq were led cut to work on the fortifications in
common with the mities, and subject from morning
to night to the lash of these cruel savages. At night
• there were confined 24. of them in hammocks in one
small room, and the dampness of the walls and their
wretched food accounted for the mortality. These
savages spared neither sex nor age. When they
pounced on any part of the Italian coast, they carried
441 man, woman, and child ; fo7 to one brutal and
abamitiable purpose or other the very children- were
made subscrvitia. The Gentleman who had pub-
lished the account he had referred to, bad wen a
Neapolitan Lady, who had been carried into capti-
vaity with eight children, of whom six were then .sur-
iling : she had been in slavery thirteen years.—
(Hear, hear.)—When this tralac was detailed; it was
•layossible not to feel indignation that it had been
setfered to exist, while we had been making such
ET:111011S ta•AIS to abolish another Slave Trade.
rat.when such a traffic was sanctioned by a Treaty
concluded by the intervention of an Officer who had
the naval power of Englasd in that quarter at his
Solornand, it became necessary to inquire whether the
British naTtle had' received no stain by such a trans.
action He should therefore ntove, That an fumble
Address be presented to the 11:ince Regent for Copies
(i Any Treaties concluded with the Dey of Algiers,
under the mediation 'af Admiral Lord Exmouth, and
of all Cerr% spondelice respecting the same.
`tor LASTLEREAGH said, the Government
Was 01'.. '••►• , ott partial information respect.
"ig thes, i.e,•,•• aa.es should therefore for the
Present abj,t;t • ee • When the whole of

the inkrelittlon *as iit pft*ion of Ministers, he
should,be willing to: produce it, and to justify the
proceedinp which had taken plate on the best prin-
ciples of humanity, and of attention to the Wishes
and ioterests of our Allies. One result of ale nego-
dation in the Mediterranean had beat, that two out
of tilt*, of • the African Powers had agreed, in the
event of A war with European Powers, they would
relinqUish the practice of treating their prisoners as
slaves, and would treat them according to the hum ine
rules of European States, and restore them on the
renewal of peace.
Sir THOMAS ACKLAND thought it was the
bounden duty of this country to use all the exertions
in her power, consistently with the claims of her orn
subjects, to rid the world of this horrible Slave Trade.
(Hear, hear).—He was happy to hear the assurance,
that two of the African Powers had given tip this
practice; and it was our duty to insist that the third
should follow their example.
Mr. W. SMITH said, he ,had intended, in the
course of the Session, to have brought forward a
motion on the subject of this Slave Trade, which was
an opprobrium to all the Maritime Powers of Europe,
but more especially to England, whose Navy had of
late years exceeded those of all the other Powers put
together. This nest of Pirates had been suffered by
the stronger Powers to plunder the weaker; arid the
only ground which had been urged for suffering them
to do so with impunity was, that it was convenient
to our commerce that others should be insulted by
robbers by whom we were too strong to be attackel
The Americans had shewn us that it was not even
necessary to have the Naval power of England to re-
press th;:se Pirates. We had nothing to do but to
signify our pleasure, and it the third Power, which
now continued piracy, consented to become part 01
the European Republic, it was well--otherwise it

was our duty to use f•ice.
Lord COCHRANI: said, that he had witnessed
the manntr in which the Christian slaves were treated
in Africa, which was horrid beyond dt,crii,tion. As
to Algiers, it tvas notiliously in the power of two sail
of the line to impose nny terms on it, as it was built
on the very mar,,,in of the sea, gone undefended and
indefensible. Ttnis country was dew aded in the eyes
of foreigners, by tf:e idea that we san:tioned the hor-
rid slavery whi,:h existed there. Men of acTtire-
ments and rank, who hAppctd to beco.ne captives,
were 13:aten out in the sr( n he:tt of that climate,
chained two and two, and compelled to perform work
almost beyond the power of man. He was informed
by the Conick at AlAiers, that there was scarcely an
article eapotted or imported, thow_;ll we paid 50,00)
dollars alear for the trade. An order to the Com-
. maAhler of our fleet to reduce thest Powers t:1 ocrtai,,
hulls, would be more eifectual than presents or nr-

gociations.
Mr. J. W. WARD thought no convenient oppor
tnnity should lee neglected to put an end to this sys-
tern of piracy, the existence of which was every inju•
views to our character.
Nlr. BROUGHAM said, he did rot regret the
bringing forward a 'fruition, which had produced an
expressilit of indignation so unanimous at the conti.
nuance of this system of piracy. He could nrit, how.
einsr, but con:h.:mu the Treaties which In.,' b-en con.
du.:: d, which sanctioned the atrooties of theta:
Powers, and renotinced th,i maxim that piracy should
be put He agreed that two sail of the line
wouid batter instiuments of nevrt..tion the :e
l'..wets than Ambassadors. Onr rulritinte force was
;lie real remedy for this crying evil, and a wit- to re-
dece these rct.vers to the tales of European Slates
would n• t be objected to by those who were 1111,4
lir.stiie to wars. As Ticaties had hien made, he
trQs:eJ these Pow. Is would be kept t' their engage-
meats, and if a sin;.,le Neap Titan or Sardinia!' vir-,
sel was hemmer captured, that our ships would be
sent to demand justice, to inflict punislimetat, and
even to carry vengeance among these barbatians.—
Lie hoped the Roman coast would nut be left open to
•11 the fury nt the Al;i,erines, but our naval force
wt.uid ev.rt itself to detend tLat ten itory, and the
other co.::.ts open to the pirates. He trusted that by
our efforts this Christian Slave Trade would soon be
so euthely d-. Fla. led, that- we should become almost
to its pa't existence. •As a 'mason had
givi.it for widinolding the information at pee-
sent, he slsAuld withdraw his motion.—The mutton
WAS withdr.. wn.
Mr. BANKES brought in a 13ill to amend the
Laws respecting Roues and Vagabonds, which was
, restd.a first time.