The Statesman.
London, England, 1822-06-13 00:00:00

nese is value. The Hon. Mover bad stated many sir-
CIIMULSKW* to show the variability of gold as a studard.
Now be (Mr. It.) would say that It was
,particularly dif-
ficult to ascertain the value of gold by comprise oar
demand for it with that of other countries. liar demand
compared with that of the rest of the world MU at the
rate of not more than one in meaty. Then the Hon.
Mover bad entered into malty calculations. with a view to
chew the steadiness of corn as a staodard. He (Mr. It.)
wished, however, that the Honourable Member had
made his calculations with respect to former periods.—
(Hear.)-1D the year 1792, wheat was at as.; I. 1796,
at 775.; in 1796 at 50s. (and it was to be reMombered,
that all this time the cerrsaey was scarcely altered), end
in 1801,118 s. tiers was a pretty tolerable variation.
although the Hon. Member assumed the price a corn to
be permanent. to the year 1803. whet the currency
was more depressed, the price was 575.; in 1810, 1165.;
and in 1814, 734. In short, the varistioas in the price
of corn were infinite and consume. The price of dour
at the beginning of 1801 was 124 e. • sail, and in the
December of that year it was 725. In inta it was 52..
in 1894, 895., and 1819, 915., Here it would be area that
the most considerable variations were within a short
time of each other. The Hon. Mover had called upon
the Members of that (louse not to resist his motion from
any mistaken pride; he could assure the Hon. Member,
that, if be knew himself. no such feeling inilosaced him
on the pr--sent occasion; but be really had not heard or
seen any thing to alter the opinion he held is 1819.
The Hon. Member had relied upon the evidence of Mr.
Tooke before the Agricultural Committee; hot
Tooke had stated that the falling off in the ;triage( every
commodity could be satisfacteSly accounted for. Here
the Hon. Member had spoken of the loss mislaid by
the country in consequence of the contracting of lambi
s depreciated currency. This loss he calculated asesual
le the price of wheat, but What had this to do with the
Fends? During the American war the price of 3 per
Cents. was at one time as low as 56, and it afterwards
rose as high as 97, and yet the comae, was cot at all
depreciated. But all these alterations to the currency
mast f4ll upon one or the other of different contracting
parties, and the object of the Bill of 1819 was to pre-
vent future irregularity by putting an sad to that which
was then prevalent. Ile (Mr. Ricardo) had hoped that
the question would be allowed to rest.—(Hear. bear.)—
He was certain that if there was the remotest idea out
of doors that the motion would be agreed to, the mis-
chief would be incalculable. The Bill of 1819 had he-
eonte mischievous, principally in consequeue of an ill-
founded alarm which followed it. That alarm-had now
subsided, and the question was becoming settled.—
(Cheers.)—One word more as to the amount of the de-
preciation. It bbleen rated by some at as high as 40
or 50 per Cent., but he had not heard a single plausible
argument to spew that this was the use, Indeed no
person could speak with any confidence as to the value
et the currency.—(The Not. Member thou sat down
amid uni I cheering, havieg declared his intention
to vote against the motion.)
Mr. H. GURNEY explained.
Mr. PEIRSE spoke in defence of the conduct of the
Bank. They bad not imported gold so much as they
bad availed themselves of the Importations of fdreign
aserchants. The Bank bad considerably benefitted the
country by circulating between ohm awl ten millions of
sovereigns. In the year 1813, the gold was at a high
price is consequence of the demand occasioned by our
foreign wars, bat at the termination of the war it bad be-
come plentiful. The Bank, however. Devetureld force
its issues ; and he ventured to say that the Baok note
was depreciated as referral to the price of gold.
Tise term depreciation had been misapplied. The opi-
nions of the lion. Member were not to bonhomie for the
conduct of the Bank; though No doubt the Uee tim-
ber was attached to his own plat abir paylketa bullion.
Indeed the proposed lumps of gold had boss called Ili-
cardos.—(A. laugh.)
Sir F. BURDETT thought his Hon. Friend, the
Member for Essex (Mr. Western,) was entitled to
great praise for the part he had acted in bringing for-
ward this motion. His own mind was made ap on the
abject, and that being the case, his Hos. Friend was
called upon to act as he bad dens in spite of all the ob-
stacles that might be thrown in his way, or the ail-
ficalties of the task. booking at the cause ens he had
made. indeed, under difficulties which presentedibeum
*elves to impede his progress is thecourse be had re-
solved to pursue; he offered an instance of the truth
of the ancient saying—entitle remelt ewer palries. it
the total disregard he bad manifested of difficulty in
doing what be felt to be, under all circumstances,
his duty. With that feelleg of the conduct of his Hon.
Friend, he did think he had to complain of the Hon.
Member for Portarlington lie the course of observation
he had pursued, which seemed to him to hint a sort
of disapprobation of that conduct. Ho stated his
apprehensions that this motioa would pudic' • heated
mete of the public mind. and altogether spoke of it in
a way very unlike his usual candour, and very like the
uncandid mode practised by persons sitting in another
part of that house. He confessed be was the more sur-
prised at this in this Hon. Member. who, Whig a
friend to free discussion, ought better to have appre
elated the value of his Hon. Friend's manly conduct,
in openly. in the face of all opposition, stating his
firm conviction on any particular subject. The only
way to meet his Hon. Friend was to 'hew that he oas
wrong in attributing the causes of that distress in
the country whict they all saw, and which he bad de-
scribed to the cause be had stated. The Hen Member
(Mr. Ricardo) bad gone into long details on the
prices of corn. hut it appeared to him that he had omit-
ted to draw from those details the only conclusions
which ought to bare barer drawn from-fftem. -If it.
were not the alteration of the currency which
had produced the evils complained of then It most be
some other cause, and none of the causes be bad
quoted relative to corn would account for the ghettos-
stances of the country. The Hon. Member pressed
upon them the distinction betwixt the depreciation
and the value of money; bdt to come to a fall under-
standing with him be would put a case. He conceived
that if one fifth of the circulating medium of a country
were withdrawn, the effect would be to decrease the
whole income of the productive classes one-fifth. Then
supposing the gross produce of the agriculture, manu-
factures. and commerce of a country to be. what he
considered that of this country might be. six hun-
dred millions, the withdrawrl of one-third of the cit.-
culdtiog medium. would be, not to affect the price,
but a loss upon all the productive classes of two hun-
dred millions. The mere matter of the money being lost
was nothing; but here, were those Masser, with a lose
of one-third of the means, called upon to pay all the
hurtisens and debts, contracted and levied during a
period of great depreciation. (Hear.)—ln his opinion.l
it must be prodective of great destruction to the coon I
try to coutinue such a state of things. It was, their
duty then to look at this with eyes qf. policy as wr I
as justice. But upon bobs growls :be pilaf opt
them to redeem the s Gentry, from that presents. which
neei-ted, it could not do itself. With respect to the
justice of :be case,- he need only *Werke that ever!