Star.
London, England, 1817-02-20 00:00:00

Lord A. HAMILTCZ: supported the motion
'The Res.ilution of his Honourable triend called to.
a Committee, in order to effect great public savings.
He had pointed out various items on which saving.
might be made, and not one of his st.ttements had
been proved erroneous. If it could be shewn, the'
the business now transacted by the Bank could be
executed fur halt the sum which was paid for ir,
it not incumbent on the House to appoint a Corn.
m;ttee, by which so much money might be sate! i
The question, iii truth, was one more directly affect-
ing the Government than the Bank (Hear, hear.)
and unless the Right Honourable Gentleman opposite
(the Chancellor of the Exchequer), was prepared at
once to deny that any saving could be effected for
the public, in the mode of arranging their accounts
with the Bank, it was impossible for him to meet
this motion ail, a negative.
Mr. C. SMITH was against the motion—rhea
crier of Querti9n. ) •
Mr. eiRENFELL, in reply observed, that the
main argument of the Right Hon. Gentlemen oppo-
site (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) went to this—
, that the agreement made between Government and
the Bank, in 1808, was final and conclusive, and
that the hands of the House were tied up front making
any further arrangement on the part of the public,
as to the management of their accounts or balances.
He (Mr. Grenfell) was not aware that the Act oil
1808 contained any provision of so final or conclusive
a nature—nor did lie see what was to prevent that
House, if a Committee saw that exorbitant charges
were drawn for the management of the Public Debt,
from altering or reconsidering the subject, with a
view to a more frugal and economical arrangement.
The Right Hon. Gentleman had also intimated that
nothing could be done in the matter without the pre-
vious consent of the Bank Directors. This, fur aught
lie knew, may be the opinion in Downing-street, bur
he trusted that no such preposterous notion would
be countenanced in that Hume, which ought to pro-
ceed in the consideration with or without the coosent
of one of the parties mcst inn rested in the result.—;
—A Right Hon., Gentleman (Mr. Huskisson) had
alluded to what had fallen from an Hon. Gentleman
near hint (Mr. Marryatt), on the subject of the-Beek
at America Now he (Mr. Grenfell) had lately. read
a copy of the Charter of that Bank, and he could tell
the Right Hon. Gentleman, that it contained aclause,
by %Inch, in consideration of the advance of public
money, of which it had the benefit, the Bank agreed
to pay the dividends and manage the whole 'unsocial
debt for nothing.—(Hear. hear.)—And further, that
the Bank of America paid, or agreed to pay, a en-
tain stipulated remuneration fur the renewal of its
Charter —(Hear, hear.)—An Hon. Bank Director
(Mr. Manning) bad said that be (Mr. Grenfell) had
not given notice of his intention to the parties who
were to be affected by the motion; nowAlte contrary
was the fact, for he had communicated a distinct
view of the nature of his motion to the Governor of
the Bank (Mr. Harman) a fortnight before the first
day for which its discussion had been fixed. The
Honourable Director had said that the Stamp Duty
arrangements of the Bank had been matured before
he (Mr. Graded) had alluded to the topic • in that
House ; it was, notwithstanding, very strange, that
when the matter was first touched upon, the Member
foe Surrey (Mr. Thornton) had given a very different
explanation of the arrangement from that which ac-
tually appeared to have been entered into by the
Bank, and had at the same time resisted that prin-
ciple, from the adoption of which the public had
since derived so much advantage. He (Mr. Grew-
fell) had been also contradicted in the statement,
that the Bank derived a profit of £300,000 from the
management of the public debt. In fact he had not
mentioned the precise sum of er300,000 ; but gene.
rally stated that it was near such a sum, for up to
last November it was calculated at exactly 8282,000.
The Hon. Member then alluded to the indistinct
way in which the £4OOO house money, and the
£1598 South Sea Stock sum had been mentioned, and
explained the way in which those sums precisely stood.
It was quite erroneous, in point of argument, for the
Honourable Director (Mr. Manning) to state that the
public derived an advantage amounting to £500,000
from the different advances-made by the Bank for
the public service, at a reduced rate of interest; for
ever since the year 1746 they had been in the baba
of making advances on these terms in consequence of
their reclusive privileges as public bankers, and th
bad continued to do the same for similar reasons since
the renewal of the Charter. From a review of all the
objections that he had heard ueged, he saw no reason•
to depart from his opiginal intention, and would,
therefore, call for the decision of the House upon the
Motiau which he had the honour to submit.
Tne House then divided, when the numbers were-a.
For the Motion, 40—. Against it, 90—Majority 50.