Star.
London, England, 1811-07-10 00:00:00

that! n qui;Acation, and Bank Stock, in the general, ' pockets full of paper, without the steins of info,
was diffused through so many, that they could have nonce. It, would be altogether described by the line
no interest in any sinister scheme. All the present which the Italian poet tells us is written over the gates
mischief had, in his mind, proceeded trom the Noble of hell—" If you enter you must leave all hopes be-
Lord, whose conduct had exhibited an example so hind." h was useless to talk of renewing the Bill ;no
pernicious. He was of opinion that Parliament, one with a Bank note in his pocket could feel confident,
after looking into the affairs of the Bank, should at suspicion once awakened, could not be dismissed ; for,
once make notes a legal tender ; this plan is the most as Thomas Paine said, public credit awake is suspicion
Simple. Hs thought also, that measures should be asleep. if we went on supporting the depreciation of
taken to guard against an over issue ; not that he paper by legislating, it would soon come to the same
feared any such thing, but be thought the prejudices amount as the asssignats of France; even as it was,
of the people should be respected. It was necessary lit was nearly the same, as the Right Honourable
ells° that some pledge should be given to the Bank, Gentleman would find, if to the twenty-two;millions
that the national expenditure should not be increased. of Bank notes he would add the different descrip-
and that the one remedy could not be adopted with- tions of paper money at present in circulation.—lt
out the other. He spoke favourably of the resources was easy to say, let the Bank make its payments in
of. the country, and contended that the National Debt, , gold ; but where was it to be got ? An Honoura-
it rightly considered, was no evil ; on the contrary, 1 ble Gentleman in the course of the night, declar-
that it was our being in debt that enabled us to carry led that the Bank was solvent. Could the giving of
do the war. If we could make it convenient to pay , paper for paper, in answer of debts, be called sol-
Yt the sum by which the amount of the Sinking Fund vency ? Under these circumstances, he conceived
is eXceeded; we might again return to payments in , that no possible good could result from the Bill 1,
epecie ? and thought that if 12 millions were raised .he would therefore oppose it in this, stage. In an.,
;el the administration of Lord Sidmouth, that 10 1 swer to the question, what hardships would the Bill
could be raised now for that purpose. He hoped ! occasion ?he would suppose a tenant distrained for
that next Sessions would bring a remedy for all these, I rent, and his goods sold, the Sheriffs could not get 1
evils, and in the mean time would support the Bill. `gold, how then were they to satisfy the landlord ?
Mr. TIERNEY apologized for rising at this stage Thus it would at length come to the Courts of Jut. i
of the bill, because he neared he would not be able to tice to determine whether, in such cases, Bank notes
attend its future discussion. It was time for the I were a legal tender or not ? He did not see any
people to come forward when two such suspicious; possible means of remedying the evil, except by
characters, he meant officially suspicious, as a Chan- i changing the whole system. By our present circum-
cellorof the Exchequer and a Bankbirector, were con- I stances Mr. Pitt was proved to be as snort sighted as
tietted upon a subject of this nature ; the crisis was : the Right Honourable Gentleman opposite; the conse-
-darming ; from every thing he could collect, he sup- : quences which we were now enduriug, were foretold to
posed that some dangerous understanding existed be- him. As the case was, it would be better for us to
tween them, which would, though the Noble Lord to , look our situation manfully in theefatee and not to
whom this measure is ascribed had never existed, have i think that the country would be ruleed if the Bank
produced the bill now before them. Mr. Pitt never , broke. He thought that the Ban* DirectOis should
h id, in his opinion, made up his mind to make be made responsible in case of failure, and conceived
Bank notes a legal tender. The Chancellor of the , that the Gentlemen of the country should take care
Exchequer thinks otherwise ;--but at any rate ; not to be made the victims of endeavours to prop up
ihe Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Bank- a ruinous system. With all this before his eyes, he
Directors seem to have agreed upon it. The bar-t; would tell the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite, that
:iin is made, and the high contracting parties ; lie had not the least doubt but that our present situa-
pretend to lay mutual restraints, but be believedltion would lead to a new system of things "Iti the
diet' were to have their mutual indulgencies, and '
country.
that the Public would have little security be-1 Mr. CREEVEY said, that, finding there were no
tween them. He took a view of the plan recom- ; less than forty of the King's Corporation Members of
r:ended by Mr. Baring for not running in debt, and I that House, he would, on a tinere occasion, offer a
l. al no objection to it, but its impracticability, arising ; Resolution expressive of their being not fit persons to
lean the above mentioned understandiug. He con- ; legislate on this subject. In doing this, he would be
sidered the nature athat remedy to which this Bill ii enabled to judge how far the assertions of his Noble
an introduction, and treated it as chimerical, namely, : Friend I Lord King) went, as compared with those
t!iat of transfers. Before this- Bill is passed, there- of the Corporation. It the Right Hon. Gentleman
lore,. be would be for a Committee of Secrecy to in i- was to appoint the second reading of the Bill on a
epiire into the affairs of the bank. It Was said that a • day when the notices precede the orders, he would
Bank-note of one pound is worth twenty shillings; the ; then bring forward the Resolution.
pmof of that to him would be its convertibility into I Sir C. BURRELL observed that the merit of this
money. He contended that the moment this Bill ! Bill did not belong to his Majesty's Government, hut
passes, the Bank is changed in its nature, that it is then to Lord Stanhope. With regard to the other Noble
a corporation amenable to Parliamentary examina- I Lord, he was far from saying any thing disrespectful
tion, and ought to be so for the satisfaction of the sof his motives, but he thought that he did not see the
public. The Hon. Member mentioned the different ! subject in its proper light, and believed that when
items of property which the Bank possessed, and ; his leases were expired, he would find a great deal
seemed displeased with their traffic in Exchequer Bills, lof difficulty in getting respectable tenants. He
:lad thought the confounding and contusing of pro- I never found any difficulty in the circulation of notes,
perty favoured the design of those who wished to keep I although he allowed the scarcity of change ; he would
their affairs concealed. He thouglit the _Bill would be too happy in receiving an estate of £lOO,OOO a year
Weed no remedy against toe. exportation of gold, for ' in Bank-notes. He weed for the Bill on the groundl
it was easy to elude all examination. A friend of his of its being necessary to shield the tenant from the
had seen 1,600 guineas taken out of the quarter of All !oppression of the landlord.
ox,lwhich had been suspended inla ship, that haclibeenl The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
carefully exami:ied. Nut allowing a scale in paper thought it necessary to take the opportunity of ex-
money, was in reality injuring those whom they meant Iplaining himself on one or two points. Respecting
to protect, but he thought a tenant should be protect-
i! the limitation of the Bill, he was sorry that the House
ed during mesne process, as well as any other debtor. should think that the measure was to expire on the
No more melancholy proof of the state of the country' 25th March ; he pointed out this, for the purpose of
couid be given, than that the public mind was become ; shewing that the Bill was so framed, that Parliament
'so 'sensitive, that the action of one spread a general , w„uld, by necessity, have it under consideration in
alarm. He concluded by recommending a call oflthe next Session. An Honourable Gentleman oppo.
the House, and the appointment of a Committee to site asked how a provision could be made to enforce
inspect the concerns of the Bank. the law ? as the Bill came from the Lords, a penal
Mr. MANN LNG entered into a satisfactory espial. I clause was not, of course, introduced, but it was his
nation of the property of the Bank. if the Charter 1 intention to do so in the Committee. The Right
were to expire to-morrow, they had assets to answer .1 Hon. Gentleman was proceeding, when
all detnands. Their issues on last Saturday did not I Mr. WHITBR.EAD spoke to order ;he observed,
etceed twenty-two millions, and the public is their that the Right Honourable Gentleman was not
debtor, on two separate accounts, to the amount of speaking in explanation, and that he had not a right
nineteen millions, and on the whole, they had a con- in this stage of the bill to make a second speech.
siderable surplus of property ; but he thought that The SPEAKER did not think that the Right Ho-
Patliatatent should net separate without passing this. nourable Gentleman was out of order ; as far as he
'Bill, in order to put an end to that alarm that had could judge, he had adhered to explanation alone.
spread through all ranks. He disclaimed and con- The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
nection between the Bank and the Government. resumed, he gave Lord King credit for the propriety
Mr. BANKES spoke against the Bill, but was not of his motives ; but when he made use of the expres-
against a second reading, when he hoped that Minis- sion " pedlaring and smuggling," he meant that ex-
ters would bring their justification and their argu- cept those who by such means sent money out of the
mews with them. Gold, alter passing the Bill, might country, none had adopted the practice which the
he carried to Ireland without any penalty, where a Noble Lord recommended. He had been induced to
traffic between it and notes is openly carried on. He change his opinion on this subject, in consequence of
did not approve of Mt. Baring's notion respecting the a body of persons, who bore the name of a party,
national debt; on the contrary, he thought it a mill finding it to be their duty to countenance and pane-
stone about the neck of the country. He would vote gytize the conduct of an individual, whose example
t; a' the seiond reading, but would pledge himself no they would not follow. He would reserve for a future
ferther.-1-le hoped that no Gentleman could be so stage any further observations, lest he should offend
deluded as to suppose that this could,be a temporary I against the delicate sense of order which the Hon.
tneasnre ; it would be permanent, unless another mea- IGentlernan possessed.
stare of much more efficacy, hut of greater danger, I Mr. WHITBREAD in explanation said, that on
was introduced, this subject he did not know how to act, for the leases
.Sir FRANCIS BURDETT rose for the purpose I weregiven on different terms in his part of the country.
of refuting the charges against a Noble Lord, whose ! The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER.
conduct, in his opinion, was wise and prudent, and i „ I suppose the Hon. Gentleman means that for an
e;tliough jt might be unpalatable to the Ministers of I explanation." (A laugh.)
the day, it was beneficial to.the country at large.— The House then divided • ' there appeared—For the
Was it to be endured that an individual should be Bill 64--Against it 19—Majority 45.
called oppressive for refusing to receive a sum of mere The Bill was accordingly read the first time.
nominal value, and for meeting nothing snore than I On our readmission to the Gallery, we found Mr.
-vita was literally his doe? Could there be any thing' TIERNEY speaking on the subject of appointing s
mile likely than this measure to make confusion in day for the second reading of the. Bill.
the country, to set the landlord and tenant by the; The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
ears, and to place them as it were in hostile array •
proposed Monday neat, upon which Mr. TIIERNEY
)11
Against each other ? It was customary for persons
.
moved an amendment, that the House be called over
trade, when any thing should affect their interests, to
meet together, and to determine on the ir mode of on Monday se'nnight, and that the Bill be read a se-
crnscl time on that day ; after a few words from Mr.
at ting ; but it was not so with the landed propne- Abercrombie, Mr. Fuller, and Mr. Whitbread, the
tot, lie was a solitary, unconnected individual ; it house divided on the original motion.—Ayes 62
was therefore necessary for the Geritiftlell of Ells-
Noes 20—Majority 4: .
land to feel on this occasion, that their property was 1
The Bill was accordingly ordered to be read a se,
about no be shaken to its basis, and to seriously re-'
f!ect on the dangerous situation iss which they stood. , cond time on Monday next.
I On the motion of the CHANCELLOR of thP
.Fle would ask, how were the tenants of Lord sing . IiIeCCHEQUER, the Bill was ordered to be printed.
• in rpressed ? Did they not take care to make up the : Mr. TIERNEY then mo •
ved that a Committee of
depreciation of paper, by asking a higher price for
Secfecy appointed to enquire into the effects
r cora, &c. in the markets (Astir, Aear !) /I duced bj the Order in Council, imposing a restriction
inia seas .:one, every Gentleman wateld soon find bit of
be pro-
ne-- '
Ca* Payments on the Bank in 1797:

• ..