Star.
London, England, 1821-02-28 00:00:00

SANK NOTES.

Mr. GREY BENNETT begged to know if the fact
were true, of which so general a rumour prevailed
among the Public, namely, that the plan from which
so much had been anticipated, for the production of
a new Bank Note, had completely failed ? One
thins was now universally acknowledged—that was,
the impossibility of pointing out any method which
should make the forgery of the notes of the Bank of
England impossible. He understood that it was the
intention of his Majesty's Government that the Bank
should return as soon as possible to payments in
specie. The Hon. Gentleman concluded by saying,
that the moment certain Returns relative to the num-
ber of persons convicted of forgeries of Bank notes
were laid upon the table, he should advert more par-
ticularly to this subject.
Mr. CURWEN did hope and trust, that within a
few days the House would have some decisive ac-
count of what state the new plan, and all the arrange-
ments connected with it, were in. If that account
should prove unsatisfactory, he should feel it his
duty, as he said hero! e, to move that some other
and more effectual means be instantly taken for the
accomplishment of so important an object as the
prevention, or at least the diminution of the facilities,
of the forgery of Bank notes.
Mr. IRVING had made very careful and partial-
' lar inquiry into this matter, and he could assure the
I House, that he had reason to believe the plans which
had been submitted for the production of a new spe-
cie's of note were still going on, and being prosecuted
by the Bank--(Hear, hear)—and though there had
been some interruption and some delay, with regard
to the completion of these notes, yet the labours of
those who were engaged in the superintendence of
the work were by no means at an end, neither was
there at the Bank any despair expressed of their ul
timately obtaining such a note as might answer the
purpose. He thought it, therefore, extremely im-
proper and unwise, that these casual observations
should be made upon a subject which was already
under consideration, and of which the agitation could
answer no good purpose, pending the labours of
those who were engaged in devising some effectual
remedy for the. evil.

Mr. GREY BENNETT had also made inquiries‘
upon this subject, and, in answer totre observations
of the Hon. Gentleman, he begged to say, that, from
all he could harp, he was led to believe that such a
despair did exist on the part of the Bank—(Hear)—
who, as the law at present stood, had the power of
life and death in their hands—(Near).
Mr. DAVIES GILBERT declared, that if such a
despair really was felt by the Bank on this subject,
the thing was entirely new to him. He hid season
to believe (although he had had no communication
with the Bank for the last three weeks), from having
that day seen a Gentleman who had made one of
these new proposals to the Bank, that they were still
employed upon the achievement of the measure in
question ; for that individual to whom he had alluded
continued to pursue his work and his experiments,
without having received any notice from the Bank to
discontinue them—(Hear).
Mr. CURWEN begged to inform the Hon. Gen-
tleman, who appeared so eager to rebuke Honourable
Members for the observations which they had made
upon this subject, that nothing which had yet been
said had effected any change in his (Mr. C's.)intentions.

Mr. IRVING, after the explanation of his Hon.
Friend (Mr. Gilbert), appealed to the House whether
he was not justified in what he had said?

Mr. CALCUAFT observed, that notwithstanding
what had been said by the Honourable Gentleman
(Mr. Irving) in his stout way, upon the remarks
which some Honourable Gentlemen on his (Mr. Cal-
craft's) side of the Hance had felt it their duty to
make upon a very painful subject, he bad also to
declare his belief that such was the result of all those
labours which had been alluded to; and he meant
also to say, that unless there had been a revival of
the plan since yesterday, it had disappointed the
Bank ; for yesterday it was considered to have en-
tirely failed—(Hear, hear). He was told, that upoti
that, it was proposed to submit another, and a dif-
ferent measure to the House. The Honourable Gen-
tleman (Mr. Gilbert) who had spoken from under
the gallery,allowed that he had had no communica-
tion with the Bank for the last three weeks :-how was
it possible. then, that he should know wind had
taken place at the Bank yesterday ?—(Hear). Was
the Public to sufer all this inconvenience, and were
all those temptations to forgery to continue which at
present existed. because the Bank could not makeup
their mind whether they could produce a note of the
proposed nature or not ?—(llear, hear). Or was the
Public to understand that instead of this system, the
circulation of El and L 2 notes should be replaced by
a cash circulation ?—(Hear, hear).