The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-12-07 00:00:00

lincittrant

KTODTII of ENGLA.NDINSURANCE COMPANY.
iNcoitEt IRATE!).
FOR GRANTPNO ASSURANCES ON LIVES;
THE SALE AND PURCHASE OF ANNUITIES AND REVERSIONS &
AND INSURA.NCE AGAINST LOSS BY FIRE.

SHEFFIELD:: 25, NORFOLK-STREET.
Loyiio : 11, CH FP.vIDE.
DUBAI 28, E'.S`TACE-STREET.
LIVERPOOL CHURCH-STREET,

CAPITNI., 4500,000.

Trustee:.
The Rt. Hon. Earl Pitzwilliam John Parker, Esq., M.P.
The Rt. Hon.hordWharncliffe. H. G. Ward, Esq., M.P.
The Right Hon. Lord Viscount ('orden Thompson, Esq.
Milton. I John Carr, Esq.
B. B. Pegge Burnell, Esq:
Chairman of the Board of 7)lrectar.t.
W. J. BAGSHA WE, Esq., of the () iks, Derbyshire.
Secretor,' and Actuary.
T. Bell, Esq.

POLICIES of HEE ASSUR‘NCE may be effected with this
Company at RATES or Pnymium for the YOUNGER AGES
LOWER than those of most other (Mires.
ANNUITIES IMNIEVIATE and DIiFERKED are granted;
and

REVERSIONARY and ALL OTHER LIFE INTERESTS
purchased I.y the Company on equitable Terms.
POLICIES of FIRE INSURANCE are issued imainst almost
every description of Risk at modera'e Premiums.
WALKER and BIRD, Agents for Liverpool.
53. Church-street.

COLONIAL LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY.

GOVERNOR.

The Right Hon. the Earl of ligin and Kincardine, Governor-
General of Canada.
HEAD OFFICES.
No. 4A, I othbury.
No. 1. George-street.
No. 35. St. Vincent-place.
BOARD OF DIRECTeRS.
The Right Honourable the Earl of Minto, Chairman.
Alexander Gillespie, Esq. I John, Scott, Esq.
Thomas H. Brooking, Esq. D. 1,. Burn, Esq.
Alexander M'Gregor, Esq.
Medical Adviser "tr. Woodfall.
Secretary Sydney Crocker. Esq.
Wi,liatmTnomas Thompson, Esq.
Messrs. Coutts and CO.
BRANCH OFFICES
At Montreal, for Canada.
At St. John's, for New Brunswick.
At Halifax for Nova Scotia.
At St. John's, for Newfolndland.
At Sydney and Adelaide for Australia.
At Cape Town. for Cape (*teeny.
At Jamaica. T,inldad. Br:tish Guiana, Barbadoes, and An-
ti:ma, for the West Indies.
At Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, and Colombo, far the East
Indies and Ceylon.
MEDICAL REFEREE I LIVEREOOL.
JAMES LUNG, Esq , a, Hardman-street.

I ondon

Edinburgh
Glasgow

Actuary
Bankers,

The COLONIAL LIEF. ASSURANCE COMPANY has been
established to ASSET/LE the LIVES of parties resident in Great
Britain, and to give inerea el far-ilities for the like purpose to
persons resident abroad, or visiting- Foreign (onntries, and
offers the following among other peculiar advantages :
Persons resident in any part of Enron., or in certain parts of
North America, in Ansi ra. ia, New 7.,!. 1 ml, or Care Colony, are
Assured at about the same rates as other respcctab!e offices;
charge for Home Residence; and bare, besides, permission to
pass from one part of Europe to another, and to and from any
part of North America. within certain limits, without extra
charge; and to or from the Australian Colonies at a small ad-
ditional rate.

ASSURED PARTIES are allowed at any time to proceed tO
any part of the world, on a fixed and published rate for that
part, without further medical examination : and are allowed to
come upon the Home Rate on their return, without further
medical certificate.

PROTECTIVE or WHOLE-WORLD LICENSF.S are granted.
at slightly increased rates. (varying from ss. to 10s. per cent.,)
to parties who have no present intention of going to an un-
healthy climate, which cover the risk of the assured parties
proceeding to any pat t of the world at an after period, and thus
offer a complete security to persons making advances on Poll.
Gies of Assurances effected witn thi, Company.
MODERATE RATES being charged for India, the West
Indies, and China, the regu'ations are highly beneficial to
NAVAL and MILITARY MEN.
PROSPECTUSES, with every further information, may be
had on application to

A. R. M'PHERSON,
Agent for the Company at Liverpool,
No. 11, Exchange-buildings.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that the Boards
of Management of the GREAT BRITAIN MUTUAL
LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY, and that of the INDIA AND
LONDON LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY, are united ; and
that henceforth the business of both will be transacted at the
Office of the G REAT BRITAIN MUTUAL LIFE ASSURANCE
SOCIETY, 14, WATE R LOO- PLACE. Propoials for Assurance,
and other communications, will likewise be received at No. 17,
CORN H ILL, the present Office of the INDIA AND LONDON
COM PA NY.

GREAT BRITAIN MUTUAL LIFE ASSURANCE
SOCIETY AND INDIA AND LONDON LIFE
ASSURANCE COMPANY,
14, WATERLOO-PLACE, AND 17, CORNIIILL, CITY.
DIRECTORS.
The Chisholm, Erchless Castle, Inverness-shire, and Chapel.
street. Grosvenor-place, London, Chairman.
Richard Hartley Kennedy, Esq.. (late Physician General, Bom-
bay,) Deputy Chairman of the Oriental Bank, Resington
Lodge, Notting Hill, Deputy Chairman.
William Morley. Esq., Blackheath, Deputy-Chairman.
Henry Stroud Barber, Esq., 38, Fenchurch-street, and Watt-
stead, Essex.
Francis Brodigan, Esq., Garden-court, Temple.
James William Deacon, Esq., Walbrook, and Southwick-place,
Hyde Pa rk -sq ua re.
Harry George Gordon, Esq., 58, Porchester-terrace, Chairman
of the Oriental Bank.
Henry Allan Harrison, Esq., St. Leonard's-on-Sea, Sussex,
Director of the Oriental Bank.
Alexander Robert Irvine, Esq., 14, Waterloo-place, Managing
Director.
John Inglis Jerdein, Veg.. Upper Ground-street, Blackfriars.
Frederick Jones, Esq., Old-square, Lincoln's Inn.
James John Kinloch, F.sq., Kair, Kincardineshire, and Glou-
cester.road, Hyde Park Gardens.
Henry Lawson, Esq., Fortess Terrace, Kentish Town.
Robert Francis Power, Esq., M.D., Queen-street. May-fair.
Archibald Spens, Esq., Bombay Civil Service, Manor House,
Inveresk, N.B.

GREAT BRITAIN MUTUAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY.
This Society is established upon the most approved princi-
ples of the Mutual System, and allows credit for half the amount
of the first five Annual Premiums.
The first division of profits will be in the year 1849.
Proposals of every description entertained involving the con-
tingency of human life.

INDIA AND LONDON LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY.
CAPITAL, .t'250,000, IN 5000 SHARES OF .t5O EACH.
This Company assures the lives of healthy persons in any part
of the world, at as low rates of premium as can be taken con-
sistently with perfect security, whilst, for the accommodation
of the assured, a Half-Premium Table (No. 2) has been con-
structed on a plan peculiar to this Office, and affording greater
advantages to parties assuring for short periods, with the option
of continuing for the remainder of life.
Also invalid lives, whether afflicted with mental or bodily
infirmities.

And lives of Naval and Military Officers and Civilians in
India, in any of the Colonies, or other parts of the world.
Annuities granted, and endowments for widows and children.
A. R. IRVINE, Manager, 14. Waterloo-place.
AGENTS FOR I.lvEarool.:
Mr. N. .1. ANDERSON, 10, Chapel-street.
Messrs. IRLAM and FLETCHER, Solicitors.
Mr. EDWARD EYES, Jun., Surveyor.

NO.VsTI
RDEEENrT,
LIVAESRSPUOORLA. N C E
NEW SICK BENEFIT CLUB.
GENERAL
H JOHN-STREET
SOCIETY,
20
PATRONS.
The EARL of SEFTON.
VISCOUNT SANDON,
WM. ENTWISLE, Esq.,
E,ESROAUTL R
The Worshipful the MAYOR of Liverpool.
The Rev. JONATHAN BROOKS, Rector.
The Rev. AUGUSTUS CAMPBELL, Rector.
PRESIDENT.—JOHN CROPPER, Esq.
VICE-PRESIDENT.—THOMAS SANDS, Esq.
TREASURER.—JOHN CLOW, Esq.
TRUSTEES.
John Brantley Moore, Esq. I James Stitt. Esq.
George Holt, Esq. Samuel Holme, Esq.
• MEDICAL OFFICERS.
Benjamin Blower, Lq. 59, ,
4-Pembroke-place.
James Bruce, Esq.. M.D. 58. Nelson-street.
Henry Pritchard, Esq.. Fairfield.
Thomas Eden, Esq., Dingle.
Edward Parker, Esq., Rake-lane, Kirkdale.
George Walker, Esq., 13, Price-street, Birkenhead.

This Society offers the following advantages :
Weekly Allowance from ss. to 205., by weekly, monthly, or quar-
terly payments.
Annuities from 2s. 6d. to 40s. per week, do. do. do.
Rum payable at Death from .210 to £2OO, do. do. do.
Endowments for Children from £5 to £2OO, do. do. do.
Medical Advice with Attendance, 3s. per year.
This Institution being certified by Act of Parliament, is free
from all Stamp Duty. Attendance daily from TEN to FOUR,
and SIX to EIGHT, at the Office, 20, SOUTH JOHN-STRERT,
LIVERPOOL. H. REID, Secretary.

parliamtntarp prorerbiii 5.

HOUSE OF CnMMONS.—MONDAY.

Sir G. GREY moved for leave to bring in a bill for the
better prevention of crime and outrage in Ireland, and in
doing so regretted that it should be necessary. The new
measure, however, is only a slight extension of the pre-
sent laws, and is not to apply to the whole of Ireland,
but, at the discretion of the Lord Lieutenant, to those
districts where crime has been most prevalent. His lord-
ship is authorised to increase the reserved constabulary
force from 400 to 600; there is, with necessary excep-
tions, to .be a general prohibition against carrying arms
in such- districts elsewhere than in a dwelling-house ;
suspicious persons may be arrested and searched, and all
persons between the ages of 16 and 60 may be required
to assist in the prevention of crime, under a liability, on
refusal,' to imprisonment for two years. There are a
great many minor enactments and penalties, but the above
are the leading provisions. Sir George said he did not at
all expect that the bill would remove the ills of Ireland,
for that could only be done by each, in his several capa-
city, performing all his relative duties.

Mr. J. O'CONNELL said the bill was so much milder
than he expected, that he could not in courtesy object to
its introduction.

Mr. FEARGUS O'CoNNoR, on the other hand, wholly
opposed the measure.
Lord4ocELYN thought that the bill would be useless
for the purpose for which it was intended,
Mr. HORSMAN strongly condemned the conduct of the
Roman•Catholie priests in inciting to violence, and also
disapprnved of the wholesale system of ejectment.
Sir R. PEEL gave his cordial support to the measure,
which was similar to the one he had himself introduced,
but without success. He would enter into no parley or
negociation with assassins. It was the duty of the house,
if it wished to lay a foundation for the permanent im-
provement of Ireland, and to preserve the lives of her
MajestY's loyal subjects in that country, to paralyse the
arm of the assassin.

Mr. WAKLEY moved as an amendment, that it was not
just to propose a coercion bill, without at the same time
submitting remedial measures.

On a division, the amendment was rejected by 233 to
20; and on a second division, the original motion for the
first reading was carried by 224 to 18.

-HOUSE OF COMMONS.—TCESDAY.
Lord'PALurtssToN, in reply to Mr. Urquhart, stated
that the British government had agreed with the other
five potyers to interfere, by friendly mediation, between
the two contending parties in Switzerland, making it a
condition that either party should be at liberty to accept
or reject their propositions; and that their acceptance or
refusal should not be made the pretext for an armed in-
terference by any of these five powers.
The CHANCELLOR Of the EXCHEQUER moved the ap-
pointment. of a select committee to inquire into the
causes of the recent commercial distress, and how far it
has been affected by the law for regulating the issue of
bank notes payable on demand. He wished to avail him-
self of that opportunity of stating the views entertained
by the government as to the causes of the recent panic.
He was aware that the government had been blamed by
the supporters of the act of 1844, for having in any way
departed from its principle, while those who disapproved
of it ascribed the calamities that had befallen trade and
commerce almost entirely to its operation. For his part,
he believed that the Banking Act of 1844 embraced those
principles which were best calculated to regulate the
monetary concerns of this country ; although he was not
prepared to say that, in all seasons, and at all times, and
under sll circumstances, it could be carried fully into
effect. For instance, in a time of general panic and
alarm, neither the Act of 1844, nor any other legislative
measure, would be able effectually to meet and put it
down. He did not believe that any modification of the
Act of 1844, nor of any previous system under which their
banking-and commercial affairs were regulated, could have
provided against the panic and distress of the last few
months. It appeared to him that the causes of the late
pressure were much more deeply seated than the mere
issue of a million or two of bank-notes, and those who
attributed it to such a cause knew little of the gravity of
the subject. What he believed to be the cause of the
pressure was, that there began in the summer of 1846 an
unexampled and unprecedented drain upon the available
capital of the country, partly for the purchase of corn,
and partly for permanent investment in railroads; and
that this acted upon a state of credit most unduly deve-
loped beyond all legitimate bounds, and the capital was
inadequate to the superstructure of credit which was
raised upon it. He had little doubt that they might have
been able to withstand the drain from either one or the
other of these causes, but it was impossible they could
have sustained both together. In the year 1837 they had
severe commercial pressure, and in the year 1839 they
had the severest drain for the payment of corn that this
country had previously sustained ; but one of these
causes had ceased to operate before the other had com-
menced; and the pressure was comparatively slight. The
amount of accommodation was certainly no measure of
the extent of the distress ; but it appeared that on the
Ist of October, 1839, the circulation of the Bank, inclu-
ding post bills, amounted to £16,800,000, while on the
2d of October, 1847, it was £19,577,000. The private
securitiis held by the Bank in the former period was
£13,29Q,000, while at the latter period it wa5.t21,260,0C0.
In the former period, however, there had been no panic,
because trade was upon a sound and healthy footing—in
the autumn of the present year, on the contrary, they had
a panic; and great commercial distress ; not because they
could not ,procure notes—not because the Bank did not
afford accommodation—but because trade was not in a
sound and healthy condition. The right hon. gentleman
then proceeded to observe upon the state of almost unli-
mited expansion of credit that prevailed in 1816—the
harvest of that year failed, and there arose a greater de-
mand for corn. It became necessary to import largely
to feed:the people, and then the increased demand for
railroad capital took place. That state of things pre-
vailed throughout the autumn ; and up to January, 1847,
no stens were taken either by the Bank of England or
any other party to meet the approaching evil. The drain
of capital for corn and railroads increased rapidly, the
Bank raised its rate of interest, and then came the sud-
den preseure and the panic. That was mainly owing to
the imprudence of the Bank, which had lent out the ba-
lances lying in its hands for the payment of the dividends,
so that they were not able to obtain them back when
these dividends became due. The Bank had pulled up
as suddenly as it had let out, and this, connected with
the then state of the Exchequer-bill market, produced
considerable alarm. The first great failure, that of Leslie
and Alexander, took place on the 16th of August, and he
would observe that the great bulk of the failures were
those of houses engaged in the corn trade, and these
failures,were mainly to be attributed to the sudden fall in
the prtile of corn ; all those who had speculated in that
commodity, and had miscalculated, paid the penalty.
The right hon. gentleman then proceeded to show that it
was owing to the abstraction of capital atone that the
panic had taken place. In the six months ending Janu-
ary, 1847, the amount paid for foreign corn was
£5,139,000; in the six months ending July, 1847, the
amount'was £14,184,000; and in the three months just
passed, it had reached the enormous amount of
£14,240,000, being upwards of £33,500,000 in fifteen
months.. When to that was added the drain for railways,
to which he had referred on a previous evening, he thought
the hou'se would see in this a satisfactory explanation of
the pressure that had taken place. After referring to the
failure of the Royal Bank of Liverpool, and other indica-
tions of increasing pressure, the right hon. gentleman
observed that the government had at last most unwillingly
come to conclusion that it was necessary to interfere.
He then noticed briefly the various suggestions that were
made aud the grounds that had influenced the government
in rejecting them, and in adopting the course they had
taken. 'After intimating that the present position of the
Bank was such that the government did not think it ne-
cessary to propose any measure to parliament during the
present-gession, he concluded by moving the appointment
of the committee.
Mr. J. -WILSON moved an amendment, the object of
which was to limit the inquiries of the committee to the
operathins of the Bank Act of 1844. He reminded the
house that Sir R. Peel and his friends had assured them
that the effect of the act of 1841 would be to diminish
very materially the chances of panic or commercial dis-
tress, but it had been quite ineffectual for that purpose.
He agreed with the Chancellor of the Exchequer as to the
propriety of appointing the committee, but he strongly
deprecated any extension of its labours. The funda-
mental error of the law was, that it confounded capital
with circulation, and currency with bullion ; and in his
opinion "it had failed in most of the objects its framers
had in view.

The succeeding speakers were Mr. T. BARING, Mr.
ROBINSON, Sir W. MOLESWORTH, and Mr. CALEY ;
after which the debate, on the motion of Mr. BLEwtrr,
was adjourned to Thursday.
Mr. WAKLEY'S motion for a committee to inquire into
the registration of legally-qualified practitioners in medi-
cine and surgery, and into the laws and charters relating
to the practice of medicine and surgery in Great Britain
and Ireland, was agreed to ; but the honourable member
refrained from naming the committee for the present, in
the hope that the chairman of the former committee, Mr.
Macaulay, not at present a member, might in the interval
be again returned to parliament.

HOUSE OF LORDS.^THURSDAY.
After some preliminary business, in the course of which
the Earl-ef-ILkanwicxx gave notice of his intention to
call attention to the national defences,
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE proposed that a select
committee should be appointed to inquire into the causes
of the. recent commercial distress, and as to how far it
had been affected by the law regulating the issue of bank-
notes, payable on demand, and in doing so entered at
considerable length into the state of the country for some
period back. For the last two years circumstances had
occurred to give an important lesson to the community as
regarded the failure of the produce of food, by which large
classes of the people had been affected, also with respect
to the effect produced by speculation carried to an extent
which the capital and circumstances of the country did
not justify. The noble marquis then traced the features
connected with the late panic. A great pressure having
arisen which went on for some time, the Government at
length felt itself called upon to interfere. and when it did
so, not many days, •or even hours, intervened before
public confidence, which had been suspended, was re-
stored, and the panic subsided. It was very possible that
twenty years would pass before such circumstances would
again occur, so as to render it necessary to interfere with
the stringent provisions of such a measure as Sir Robert
Peel's act. It was, however, for Parliament to determine
as to whether or not they should retain such a measure
in operation.,
After some remarks from Lord Stanley, Earl GREY
indicated the course taken by the Government at con-
siderable length, on the grounds urged by the Marquis of
Lansdowne, and by. Lord John Russell in the House of
C 4421119114 on the second night of the session.

Lord Brougham,•the Duke of Grafton, Lord Ashburton,
and the Earl of Eglinton all concurred, on different
grounds in the appointment of the committee, and the
motion was then agreed to.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—THURSDAY.
The adjourned 'debate on the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer's motion far a committee on the causes of the
commercial distress was resumed by Mr. URQUHART.
The hon. member contended that it was absurd to at-
tribute the commercial crisis to the importation of corn
or the expenditure on railways ; it was from the money
laws we suffered, and the only remedy for the evils under
which we have laboured would be the abrogation of the
Bank Act. The fixed price of gold was the principal
cause of our monetary derangement. The hon. member
lashed the Free-traders for their inconsistencies in de-
manding Free-trade in every thing but gold. The
Emperor of Russia had, by the wise use of his treasures,
obtained a very dangerous influence over France and
England.
Mr. NEWDEGATE could not consent to leave the country
suffering under the infliction of the Bank Act, whilst the
proposed committee of inquiry would be labouring through
the intricate labyrinth of currency, usury, free trade, rail-
roads, and the numberless other subjects open to its in-
vestigation. He maintained that some immediate legis-
lative measure was indispensable.
Mr. DRUMMOND thought Government and Sir Robert
Peel were gravely to blame for having given extravagant
encouragement to railway undertakings. The honourable
member created much laughter by saying that, though
the city of London had returned the First Lord of the
Treasury, she had taken away the grace of the act by
coupling his lordship with a Jew.
After a few remarks from the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer the debate was adjourned.

HOUSE OF LORDS.-FRIDAY.

The committee on the causes of commercial distress was
nominated by the Marquis of Lansdowne, and agreed to
without alteration.

The Duke of RICHMOND, in moving for some returns
respecting Ireland, expressed a hope that if the measures
now proposed by the Government for the purpose of pro-
tecting life and property in Ireland, should prove insuffi-
cient, her Majesty's Ministers would not hesitate to ask
for greater powers. -If the most arbitrary powers should
be demanded he would not hesitate to confide them to the
present Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, resting perfectly as-
sured that in his hands those powers would never be
abused.

The Marquis of LANSDOWNE assured the noble duke
that the Government would not hesitate to ask for greater
powers should they find it requisite to do so, and he had
no doubt but Parliament would as readily grant them for
the attainment of so important an object as that of putting
an end to outrage in Ireland.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-FRIDAY.

On the motion of the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER,

The Railway Bills was, after considerable discussion,
passed through committee, some clauses being postponed
until the report, with a view to their alteration.
The adjourned debate on commercial distress was re-
sumed by
The Marquis of. GRANBY, who expressed his fears that
the commercial classes of the country would derive little
comfort from the speech of the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer. The bill of 1844 was passed in direct opposition to
the opinions of all persons conversant with monetary
transactions.

Mr. HERRIES said, that when the committee should be
appointed it would be necessary to produce not only the
correspondence between the Bank of England and the go-
vernment, but also the reasons contained in a small paper
which caused government to authorise the suspension of
the act of 1844. These reasons were of the last import-
ance, and he was only surprised that the government had
not already stated them. Suppose government had not
authorised the bank to violate the law, how fearful must
be the consequences. The bank must gone into the
market with a couple of millions of its securities, which
would have necessarily, in the state of the market, caused
a depression ruinous to thousands. The right honourable
gentleman (Mr. F. Baring) took no notice of this fact,
and yet this was an evil of the greatest magnitude, and in-
herent in the operation of the act of 1844. Something
should be done to lodge the power somewhere to prevent
the recurrence of such a state of things ; and although it
was, he believed, generally understood that some modifi-
cation will take place in the act of 1844, still it was neces-
sary, in order to quiet the public mind, that some inter-
mediate step should be taken to give the power he referred
to to some one, until parliament should have decided upon
the extent to which it thought it right to go in altering the
act of 1844. He had thougilt much of that act, and now
he felt confident that it was founded upon, in many re-
spects, an erroneous theory, and mischievous in its oper-
ation, more particularly in restricting the circulation of
the bank to fourteen millions.

Lord J. RUSSELL said that the opinions of the right
hon. gentleman were entitled to great weight, as well
from his constitutional as his financial knowledge; and
yet he hoped to lead the house to a very different conclu-
sion from that which the right hon. gentleman had arrived
at. He could not see the advantage of adopting any hasty
measure without inquiry, while an inquiry was going for-
wArd, with a view to place our monetary system, if pos-
sible, on a sounder basis. In his opinion, the government
of 1844 succeeded in giving greater convertibility to the
bank-note, and had thus obviated many of the previous
evils which beset our monetary system. The noble lord
then proCeeded to attribute the commercial distress to the
great importation of foreign corn and the great amount of
capital invested in railways. The difficulties thence aris-
ing were increased by the anomalous position of the bank,
which had a double duty to perform—that of satisfying
the government that it attended properly to the interests
of the public, and that of, at the same time proving to
their proprietors that they had commercially turned their
capital to the best advantage. 'He must say the bank had.
made great exertions to sustain the mercantile interests ;
they had, by great exertions, sustained one bank at New-
castle, which was endangered by a panic created by the sus-
pension of another bank in the same town ; and fearful of
similar occurrences in other parts of the kingdom while
the bullion in the bank was so very low, he thought it
better to take the course which had been pursued, and
which he believed very few persons indeed had disapproved
of, though he admitted it was contrary to law. The noble
lord concluded by imploring the house to agree to the
committee, which lie hoped would not adopt a hasty resolu-
tion without inquiring into the whole bearings of the
question.
Sir R. PEEL said that the Executive Government hav-
ing appealed to the house for a committee of inquiry on
the subject of commercial distress, on the ground that
they had no foundation for any legislative enactment
without such an inquiry, he thought there was no hon.
gentleman who would think it possible to resist that
appeal. He felt it requisite, however, to say that he
wished to devolve on no party whatever the responsibility
which attached to him for the course which he had pur-
sued in 1819, and in the subsequent years down to 1844, for
he would at once declare that he did not regret that course
(hear, hear). Still he must say it was not quite decorous
to hold an individual responsible for that which was
sanctioned by both houses of the legislature.-The bill of
1819 was proposed by him, it was true, but it was recom-
mended by two committees of the House of Commons
and not a single division took place against it, and in the
House of Lords it met with unanimous support. He
thought then, and he still thought, the restoration of the
standard of value a wise measure, and therefore sought
not to escape his own full measure of responsibility.
With respect to the measure of 1844, he was at that time
minister of the crown, and had to bring forward the mea-
sure for the renewal of the bank charter. 'I here bad been
several committees on the subject of the currency, and
although no less than 14,000 questions had been asked
and answered, those committees bad closed their labours
without recommending any practical measure to the house.
Under these circumstances, her Majesty's government
felt it necessary, deeming inquiry to be exhausted, to pro-
pose some practical measure on their own responsibility.
He was far from thinking that any man was to be bound
at any time by the opinions he might have formed in 1844;
but at the same time those honourable gentlemen who
had then agreed'to the measure had now no right to offer
as an excuse that they had only followed in the steps of
the government, without giving due consideration to the
provisions of the bill itself; he was rather of opinion that
the evil was more properly attributable to the instrument
by which the measure itself had to be carried into opera-
tion. He admitted that the bill had failed to prevent
panics, but it had succeeded in securing convertibility and
and in checking over speculation, which would otherwise
have followed the abuse of paper money. The fact was,
the country was now suffering from a diminution of its
capital and a contraction of its currency ; and those who
felt the pressure turned round upon and railed at the bill
of 1844, without which their sufferings would be ten times
greater. The right hon. baronet then referred to the
failures which had taken place, and the melancholy exhi-
bition of assets as compared with their liabilities, which
had appeared in the public papers, and asked if that was
the sort of commerce which it was desirable to sustain.
The man whose assets were £3,000, while his liabilities
were £50,000, might well cry out, " Oh, that infernal bill
of 1844 !" (Great laughter.) In fact, if the bill had the
effect of breaking up such houses, its operation was bene-
ficial to the public. The real evil was the dearth of capi-
tal, and an increased circulating medium would not have
the effect of adding to that capital, or of in any way miti-
gating the evil. Though railways would ultimately be a
source of great prosperity to the country, yet there could
be no doubt that the capital locked up in them added, at
the present moment, to the restriction of money and its
consequent difficulties. He approved of the course pur-
sued by the government, and thought they were right in
not issuing their letter to the bank at an earlier period than
that on which it was written. He also thought they were
right in requiring the bank to demand a higher rate of
interest, as being a better course than leaving the matter
altogether in the discretion of the Bank. He for one was
not prepared to leave the monetary circulation of the
country, after the experience they had had of 1839 and
1826, to the uncontrolled discretion of the Bank (hear).
Mr. STEWART then moved the adjournment of the de-
bate, amidst loud cries of " divide !'
The gallery was cleared for a division, and the adjourn-
ment was negatived by a majority of 257 to 45.
Mr. WILSON then withdrew his amendment, and the
original motion was agreed to without a division.