Star.
London, England, 1819-02-03 00:00:00

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In the year IS! 7, in the first half year from January,
to July, the issues were £29,259.000, and in the last
half year of 1617, from the month of July to De-
cember. /226,40:1,900. This reduction was as great
as coulu be made in the circumstances of the cows-
try. It was very easy to say the Bank ought to 'do
this and ought to do that, but it was to be conside-
red that they had the intereAs of the country to at-
tend to. As to the appeal which had been made to
new Members) he would only remind the House of
the course which had been followed in 1797. The
Committee then appointed ,was chosen by ballot ; it
• was a Committee of secrecy, and had reported as
much as it had been thought material should be
communicated, nor had any complaint ever been
made that enough had n.. been communicated. •
Mr. GRENFEIA. said, that either the Honourable
Gentleman who spoke last was wrung when he stated
Oat the Bank had diminished its issues last year, or
tl:e account which he held in his hand was wrung. It
v as, however, cert:inly true, that in the last halt
}ear of 1818 there had been a reduction ; but the
general average of the is-ates for the whole year was
between twenty-';ix and twenty-seven
Mr. MANNING explained. The rapers which
would be in a few days laid before the Hause, would
chew the accuracy of his statements.
Mr. Alderman HEYGATE drew a serious picture
cr our National Finance. He wished to know what
would become of the country, if our affairs co,n*ned
longer in he present state of perplexity and alarm.
NIVe had been promised the consolation Of the bles-
sings of peace, by au influx of wealth froni
ariyiti-
creased commerce, and the return of cash payments
by the Bank of England. In both' views we hid
been deceived. He had no doubt of a happy ima
provcment in our commerce as soon as our native
industry and entcrprize experienced a correspond-
ing encouragement. But he was fearful that the
return of cash payments by the Bank of England
was at a great, if not an indeterminate, distance.—
As to the Country Bankers, they. must yield to the
public emergency, and wait the opportunities of bet-
ter times. He avowed himself unfriendly to a Se-
cret Committee; bat in whatever manner it was
formed, he hoped that it would be composed of men
of sound judgment and strict impartiality—men who
would make fair report to the House and to the
Country—men who would faithfully ascertain upon
what basis the Public stood with the Bank of Eng-
land. But with every promise of a happy ameliora-
tion by the retrenchment of expenditure, he con-
fessed his apprehensions and fears from the serious
consequenCes of our enormous national debt, which
had Met-, ased tc a degree far beyond the expecta-
tion:. of any matt living. He recommended to our
Ministers the adoption of economical plans, if they
meant to discharge their duties with that fidelity and
honour which became servants of the public.
Mr. TIERNEY rose to reply. He would beg leave
to say one word about the Bank, which had a very
different degree of importance attached to it by Gen-
tlemen on the other side. The Noble Lord had com-
pared it.only to the fly upon the wheel ; but it ap-
peared to him that the Right Honourable Gentleman
was the fly upOn the wheel—(A laugh).—He (Mr.
Tierney) wished to Itn,7 whether the Bank was a
party to the proposed continuance of the Restriction
till March, 1820, and whether it afterwards demanded
inquiry? He could not understand why, last year,
it had resisted all investigation, and this year came
forward demanding it. It should be recollected, that
the Government, in pfoposing the Restriction to con-
tinue till March, 1820, did not then contemplate its
removal. They were then to appoint the Committee

which they now proposed to appoint, and were to
take all the benefit of rest from inquiry in the mean
time. This gave us but a sad prospect of a return
to cash payments, when we did not see clearly our
way to the time when the Restriction would cease.—
The Bank, to shew the sincerity of its wish to fulfil
its engagements, had paid a part of its notes in cash,
and then complained that this cash had disappeared.
He would tell them why it disappeared. Had they
reduced their issues of paper at the time that they
issuai the gold, the gold would have continued in
circulation for the notes withdrawn ; but while they
withdrew notes of a certain date, they issued others
to supply their place. Nobody disputed the principle
that gold could not continue in circulation for notes
which were supplied by other notes. They might
have as well folded it up in parcels for exportation,
as have issued it wrapped round in Bank notes. He
had no conviction that they would reduce their issues,
• as the observation made by his Honourable Friend
behfuci hini (Mr. Grenfell) clearly shewed. But he
did not find fault with the Bank on this account ; he
rather gave them credit for the attempts at reduction,
• df issues which they had made. They were so beset
with claims by all quarters, that they could not think
themselves safe in their house in Threadneedle-street
if they refused discoents ; their inclination, he had
no doubt, was good ; and had they a Government
who woulc! stand by them, and support them in their
resolutions, and tell them to listen to nobody, he was
sure the object might be accomplished.:Governmesstd
instead of doing this, depended on no grounds of
judgment of their own, but relied upon Gentlemen
interested in obtaining the issues which the Govern-
ment ought to restrain. The Right lion. Gentleman
had spoken of din temper with which the Members
of the proposed Committee ought to.conduct their
inquiries. He (tlr. Tierney) would promise, if elect-
ed, to attend that Committee, and would enter it
with as unprejudiced a mind as he could. He did
not expect, indeed, that any thing that could occur
in it would make him alter his opinions ; but le
could say, at least, that he was open to conviction,
fn- he was not pledged to support them, if he saw
reasons for a change. Could the Right Hon. Gen-
tleman say as much for himself, while a Resolution
of his remained on the Records of Parliament, de-
claring that a Bank note was equivalent to a pound
sterling—(hear, hear)? He would not now tit to
him the case of the one-pound Bank-note against 20
shillings, but of Bank motes against bank-notes, and
the Right Honourable Gentleman would see that
ape Bank-note was more valuable than another.
7o shew this, he would offer for a hundred pound
Bank-nete of a date anterior to the 31st December,
MO, a hundred pound note of a subsequent date,
and fact pounds in cash—( hear, hear, aid a laugh).
the Right Hoa. nein were to give up this
:resolution, he should have some hopes of ilia in the

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