Star.
London, England, 1811-07-09 00:00:00

perfectly wild, that prohibited the enactment of ex
est facto lAws, a principle he had often heard avowed
m that House, but from which an assent to the law

now pr.posed would molt undoubtedly constitute an
aberation The Noble Lords would come at once
and take out ,if the pocket of his Noble Friend, and
from his children yet unborn, full 17 per cent. on
their entire income ; he wished particularly to advert
to a statement which had been made with respect to
Ireland. namely, that there had been from time intl.

memorial a money price and a paper price established
in that country. This w.ts altogether untrue. In the
year 1797, the Bank of Ireland paid in gold, and he
would ask how it was possible that two prices could

exist when every applicant could immediately convert

his paper into gold If the circumstances 'in which
Ireland was placed were clnly considered, the pro-
posed law was titter for that part of the United King.
dom to which it was not designed to extend it, than
for England and Scotland, where it was to be en-
forced. He considered it highly improper in the Mi.
nisters of the Crown and their adherents, who had paid:
little attention to this momentous subject, to endeavour
to run down and injure, in the public opinion, those
who had made it the study of a great part of th,fir
liv4s. He himself had devoted to it the most se.

rious attention, and, as coming within the range of
the animadversions he bad alluded to, felt himself
much aggrieved. He did not c,insider himself as '
using too strong language. when he affirmed that
the depreciated paper which their assertions were em-
ployed to uphold, was in all respects analogous to
Lase coin, and the fact was, that the Bank now act's-
ally employed a coin of reduced value in paying their
fractions. He was, moreover, supported in this opi.
nien by several very able writers, from one of the
oldest of which he should quote an apposite passage.
The Noble Lord then read a passage to the follow.
in Am, from a work published in the year 1629, en-
titled Lsse Mercatoria.—" Base money maketh every
thing dear. Those who issue it may by degrees be-
come Masters of all the commodities of the realm,
and it swalloweth the good coin with a voracity simi-
lar to that of Pharaoh's lean kine, recorded in the
itcriptures." Formerly. continued the Noble Lord, it
was the gold of England by which the Continent was
to be rescued from the grasp of our enemy ; but now
it seems the paper of England is the potent engine by
which Bonaparte is to be made to descend from his
usurped elevation. From these dreams the country
must at length awaken; and the time was not very
f Ir distant when, if the Bank did not confine their is-
sues within more narrow limits than they now seemed

disposed to do, Parliameat must of necessity interfere
' *to compel them. It was wonderful t hear the Noble
Lords contending that there were not two prices in
the count-y—they had been gradually introducing
ever since the Bank restriction ; and he would men-
tion one instance in which the Noble Lords, though
they were not aware of it, yet suffered by it in an
article of daily consumption—that article was fish,
Which, before it was brought to their tables, had been
paid for in gt.l4. The fishmonger, who would cer-
tainly throw the expense of the transaction on the
consumer, was forced to purchase it with that metal
from the Dutch boats which came into the Thames,
and to whose owners English Bank notes would be of
very small value. He was ashamed to be reduced to
the necessity of this mode of illustration; hot if the
persons entrusted with the Governmznt of the Consitry
could have it knocked into their beads in no other
way, they must, if possible, be practically convinced
of the vast mischief they were doing to the country.
Lord MORTON contended that there was no
depreciation of English Bank pa per with respectto Scot-
land, for he was acquainted with a line of road to the
latter country, on which English and Scotch notes
were received constantly at the same value, which
Could not be, if such a depreciation existed.
Lold LAUDERDALE .contended that the cause
of this partial. appearance of parity between the two
currencies, was the competition between the publi-
cans on the road in question ; for it was not rea-
sonable to suppose, that person's who endeavoured
constantly to attract customers by every possible Assi-
duity, and even by heavy pecuniary losses, would
think of calling in question the value of the currency
in which they were paid. Scotch Bank notes had a •
quality superior even to gold itself.
The Earl of LIVERPOOL was certain his Noble
Friend would be thought by every unprejudiced per-
son eminently qualified to judge of the subject. He
would not tax the Noble Lord with ignorance, but on
the contrary, would willingly allow him all the know-
ledge and research he claimed, but whatever might
be their extent he would nevertheless contend that
they did not surpass those of his Noble Friend. As
to the Bill now under the consideration of the House,
he conceived that it was no more than a measure !
of justice towards a great proportion of the people
of the country. The national creditor was obliged
to receive his notes at par, there was certainly no ;
reason why he should have more favour than an-
other, but neither was there any why he should not
be placed on an equal footing with proprietors of
every other denomination. He should not be obliged
to take notes at par and pay them with a loss. With
respect to the supposed depreciation of our currency,
he thought it must be quite evident to every person
who duly considered the subject, that it did not
exist as relevant to the articles of life, the rise on !
which, in all those instances where there was a rise, i
was fairly assignable to other causes which were suf.
eiently obvious; but the fact was, that on the greatest
number, and the most essential articles of home con-
',umption, there had been no rise, and on many of .
them there had been a reduction. The ruin of no
country could be traced to a paper circulation fairly
managed ; it was the abuse of such a currency that
rroduced the evil, when its tendency to excess was not
duly restrained ; but in England paper was by no i
means excessive. His Lordship then observed, that
in 1797, the Bank said that they were ready to pay
in cash, provided it was the opinion of Parliament
that they should do so. At that time all the ex-
changes were in our favour—we had no subsidies to
provide—there were no Continental alliances—the
Bank were then ready to make cash payments, but
Parliament did not think that such a measure was
expedient. If they were to retrace their steps, as had
been urged, he would inquire, where was the profu-
sion ? If there were any expenditure that might be
saved without endangering the safety of the country,
let them knave what it was ; if there were any ex-
pence for which the country had not its price, let it
be particularized and curtailed in future ; but be